Denise Richards Says She Had to 'Drop the Kids Off' at Charlie Sheen's Gate After Their Divorce

Denise Richards is opening up about how she approached her divorce from Charlie Sheen around their kids.

On Thursday's episode of Just B with Bethenny Frankel, the actress, 52, revealed that when she was first going through her divorce with Sheen, 58, Richards was told to leave her kids at the gate when dropping them off at their father's.

"So in the beginning with Charlie and I, and I'm sure he'll be fine that I'm talking about this and I'm sure he'll probably say it too, we were not getting along at all," Richards says. "And it was harder when he was with his other ex. When they got together, it was very difficult. I wasn't allowed to go up to the house."

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"I had to drop the kids off at the gate and have someone drive them through the gate to the house, which was very difficult for the kids because then they feel insecure. 'How come mom can't come to the house?'"

Sheen and Richards share daughters Sami, 19, and Lola Rose, 18.

Noting that she tried to get Sheen to understand that they didn't have to be best friends, she says she asked if they could just "fake it" and act nice to each other, "otherwise they would feel so insecure and right away, not safe."

"Because if mom can't come in, why are we going in there? You know what I mean?"

Later in the episode, Richards shares that she "never wanted the girls to hate their dad."

"I wanted them to have a good relationship because I have such an amazing relationship with my father and with my mom. So that's why I really wanted us to work hard at keeping it healthy and positive and not say anything bad about him," she explains.

"I would tell everyone in my house, do not talk negatively about their dad. Do not say a word. I went overboard actually, to the point where when things did go the way they did, they were shocked. Like, how come they didn't know this?"

In June, the former couples' daughters reportedly moved out from Sheen's house as Sami moved into her own place close to Richards and Lola was living under her mom's roof, a source told PEOPLE.

"Sami has her own place — Denise helped her get set up and decorate everything and get settled in," said the source at the time. "They're really closer than ever now. Denise really wants to keep her girls close to her. She doesn't want to push them away."

Lola is living at home with Richards, added the source.

"For Denise, it has been traumatizing trying to stay on top of everything and work full time," the insider noted. "But she's a great mom and she has limitless energy for her kids. She puts them first above everything."