Three exes and five kids might not sound like the makings of one big happy family, but according to Denise Richards, that's exactly what she has with ex-husband Charlie Sheen and his ex-wife Brooke Mueller.
On Wednesday, Dec. 19, the 41-year-old actress opened up to Access Hollywood about the trio's somewhat unconventional family dynamic, noting that she recently helped care for Sheen and Mueller's 3-year-old twin sons, Bob and Max, while her ex's ex was reportedly in rehab. (Earlier this month, TMZ claimed that Sheen's third wife had overdosed on Adderall and was seeking treatment for addiction to the psycho-stimulant.)
"This is not the first time I've had all five [kids]," Richards said, referring to the twins, as well as her two daughters with Sheen -- Sam, 8, and Lola, 7 -- and her newly adopted daughter, Eloise, 18 months. "Brooke knows, and Charlie, that anytime they need help with the boys, I'm there."
The star, who was married to Sheen from 2002 to 2006, admitted that their arrangement was slightly unusual but said it was important for the kids -- all five of them -- to grow up together.
"They're our family, and they're Sam and Lola's brothers," she explained of the twins. "I can't imagine growing up without my sister, so anytime [Brooke] needs help, I'm there for the boys. [Sam and Lola] are the best big sisters to [the boys], and they love them."
"I know it doesn't seem normal," she continued, "but it is our normal."
Indeed, the exes seem to have redefined what it means to be on good terms after a divorce. Earlier this year, Richards told Rolling Stone that she and Sheen "are like best friends now. Confidants. He tells me everything." And in August, she threw a birthday party for her ex-husband's ex-wife at her home in Beverly Hills.
"Ex-wife No. 2 (me) is having ex-wife No. 3's (Brooke) birthday party at my house," the Madea's Witness Protection actress tweeted. "Oh, and our ex-husband will be here. How's your Sunday?"
This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Denise Richards on Brooke Mueller, Ex-Husband Charlie Sheen: Anytime They Need Help, I'm There
