Brooke Mueller called an ‘unfit mother’ by judge in custody case


Like Lindsay Lohan, Brooke Mueller couldn’t hack Betty Ford rehab and headed to a more crackhead friendly facility last week. Brooke left about a day after Lohan bolted, but she didn’t follow Lohan to the next place, (Lohan reportedly shunned her in Betty Ford anyway) she ended up somewhere else in California, where she surely had much less accountability.

This is Brooke’s 21st stint in rehab, and since she’s gone back to drugs 20 other times there’s little chance this latest half-effort will stick for her. The judge in her custody case knows this, and called a hearing to demand why Brooke left Betty Ford without informing her lawyer or child protective services. Brooke’s four year-old twin boys with Charlie Sheen are under the guardianship of Denise Richards. Brooke has failed twice to have the boys placed with her family members.

A very angry judge overseeing the custody situation of Charlie Sheen‘s twins, hauled their mother, Brooke Mueller into dependency court in Los Angeles on Monday and demanded to know why she left Betty Ford, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.

To say the judge was “angry is a major understatement,” a source told Radar. “The judge was livid that Brooke ditched Betty Ford, for a more upscale and less stringent rehab in San Juan Capistrano.

“Brooke was told that she was an unfit mother and her actions had seriously harmed her chances of regaining custody of the boys anytime soon. It was apparent to everyone that Brooke isn’t taking her sobriety seriously. The judge was particularly irked that Brooke made the sudden move without even notifying her attorney or child protective services.”

Mueller, ditched her treatment at the Betty Ford Clinic because it was “too hard” for her.

The 35-year-old Palm Beach socialite did not like the manual labor and chores asked of patients at the famed Rancho Mirage, Calif. center, a source previously told us.

[From Radar Online]

Brooke sounds like a woman who can only be sober while in some kind of institutional custody, much like Lindsay Lohan. These famous women are giving the impression that court-ordered rehab doesn’t work, when in fact statistics show that the recovery rate is about the same or even slightly better for people who come on their own and people who are forced into rehab for some reason. (At least according to the director of the Hazelden rehab.) These hard cases just suck up all the media air, when you hear about celebrities going to rehab and getting sober all the time, you just don’t hear about their successes.

In Brooke’s case her kids have a wonderful, sober woman caring for them and they’re with their three half-sisters. That’s a positive outcome for this story. Maybe Brooke will get sober, maybe she won’t, but her kids are where they belong.

Here are Brooke’s sons Max and Bob out with Denise Richards and her youngest daughter, Eloise, on 6-18-13. I’m not sure who the man is with them. He may be a helper or a relative. Credit: FameFlynet. Photos of Brooke Mueller are from 12-6-12 credit: Pacific Coast News

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80 Responses to “Brooke Mueller called an ‘unfit mother’ by judge in custody case”

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  1. Vee says:

    Brooke unfit and water is wet.

    Let Denise have full custody, give these boys a chance.

    • BB says:

      So sad that she cannot get herself clean.

      • Meaghan says:

        I saw this show once, I can’t remember what it was, but it showed this rehab in Thailand somewhere with the highest success rate ever. It was run by monks and every day they had to drink this nasty concoction that cleansed the body and made them puke their guts out. It was amazing, disgusting and works. North America needs to start embracing this form of rehabilitation. Its free, and when they get there they get their phones, computers, passports and money all taken away from them, so pretty much the PERFECT place for Brooke and Crackhan to be!

      • Ella says:

        Meaghan – how is that free? The most bare-bones kind of inpatient rehab requires a building big enough for activities and sleeping, lots of staff for monitoring, therapy, etc.; potentially medical staff if it is a detox facility; lots of liability and malpractice insurance; licensing fees; etc. None of that is free. Outpatient rehab would have much of the same requirements and is certainly not free either. Sorry for seeming defensive, but as someone who works in medicine, it gets sort of frustrating that society thinks so many things about medical care should be free or cheap, without realizing the cost of all the components involved in care.

      • Meaghan says:

        You are confusing this with western Cultures rehabilitation. It is a monestary run by monks. There is no methadone, there is a daily herbal medicine given that forces vomiting and cleanses the body. The activities are meditation. They sleep on mats on the floor, and use outhouses. There is one meal a day, rice. It focuses on spirituality and the discovering the mental root of the addiction. The monks do not have a salary, the food is grown themselves. I don’t take offense to your defensiveness, it’s not the rehabs you have experience with. The income is primarily charity and donations. They only accept 20 foreigners at a time. You should look into Tham Krabok, it is a different approach to rehabilitation and has a higher success rate then the North American approach. I understand your frustrations with people expecting medical care to be free or cheap, but this is drastically different approach then what you are thinking of. I work in medicine as well, I am not ignorant to the costs of health care. It’s a Buddhist monestary, and the monks help people grow spiritually and overcome their addictions in a very different manner. The minimum stay is 7 days, and the ‘patients’ have everything taken away from them when they enter, and they sign a pact to stay clean. There is also no second chances. If they walk out they are not allowed to return. Some of the monks are recovered drug addicts that stay and study Buddhism and want to help addicts get free of their demons and heal. I highly recommend you look into it a bit and educate your self on the alternative methods of dealing with addiction. It’s quite remarkable actually, I myself, a doctor, was very intrigued by it. Hope I cleared things up for you and helped you understand it a little more clearly!

      • Leen says:

        Ella, I can’t share your sentiments even though I work in the medical field (I work for a medical equipment supplies, so we sometimes incur some losses because hospitals especially government hospitals cannot afford to fix their equipments). It’s a very moral issue and after working in the medical field, I feel strongly about fee universal healthcare. I know it’s a completely different system in the US (I work in in Palestine and Israel where it’s essential free for patients). So I guess I have a different background on this.

        With rehabilitation centers, they are free. Why? Because those who are there for drug addictions are not your celeb types who have loads of money, they are junkies living on the streets with no hope or future and often a menace to society. These wonderful rehabilitation centers are often run by international charities and other international organizations. And yes. They are absolutely free for the patient.

    • Kat says:

      +1

      Just give Denise custody already.

    • Meredith says:

      I bet Denise’s youngest Eloise is having a blast. More little kids to play with @ my house! says Eloise. Glad to see the judge isn’t buying what Brooke is selling. The twins are better off where they are – let them stay there.

      • Suzy from Ontario says:

        I agree! If she doesn’t care enough about her kids to stay at Betty Ford and really work at trying to overcome her addiction and get them back, then she deserves to lose them. She’s a pathetic, narcisstic excuse for a mother. Denise has really been amazing through this. I admire her because I don’t know many ex-wives (especially ones that were treated so badly during the divorce) that would take on their ex’s kids with another woman and not even be after $ for it!

  2. brin says:

    Yay…a California judge who made the right decision. She is definitely an unfit mother….those boys are safe with Denise.

  3. Buckwild says:

    Someone get this judge on Lohan’s case!

    • Sisi says:

      Honestly I think this judge is so stern because there are kids involved, which obviously isn’t the case with Lohan, so I doubt we’d see a difference

  4. gogoGorilla says:

    The thing about rehab is you have to WANT it. You have to want to be sober. That’s the problem with court-ordered scenarios. Unless the person has truly hit rock bottom (and, I’m sorry, but a person with 55K a month to throw at drugs is probably not at rock bottom), sobriety isn’t likely to stick. (I’m sure there are one-off cases, but in general, sobriety is about making a choice every day–at first, it feels like every minute–so it has to be something that you want for yourself rather than something that everyone wants for you.)

    • Blueb says:

      Well said!

    • Ella says:

      Agree about the substance abuser needing to want treatment and want to get better. It doesn’t work if your family or husband or wife or therapist wants it more than you do. Although, I don’t think one necessarily has to hit financial rock bottom – there are other ways, such as in your work, family, or personal life. For some people, having their kids taken away might be rock bottom. Doesn’t seem like Brooke is necessarily in that frame of mind.

  5. Blueb says:

    I’m glad these boys have Denise to be there for them… it’s beyond sad that neither their mother or father can be a parent to them. Although, I give Charlie Sheen props for recognizing that he can’t be the parent these little boys need.

  6. DanaG says:

    Those boys aren’t going anywhere. Clearly Brooke doesn’t want to do the hard work and if she can’t handle rehab it seems pretty clear she won’t handle sobriety. Best to keep the boys away from her and with someone stable and loving as Denise is. This Judge is looking after the kids I bet Brooke tries to get them back way before she should.

  7. marie says:

    Brooke is disgusting, I usually don’t say that about addicts but 20-21 times in rehab? really? so, she’s basically using these places as her sober vacations. Too bad her kids rank low on her list of priorities, they’re better off with Denise though.

  8. Holly says:

    I’m still pissed at Charlie Sheen for going out, finding a serious addict, paying for treatments to get her pregnant (something tells me the twins were not a natural conception given her health…), and bringing the whole mess into the world.

    I remember pretty well the crap Charlie and Brooke would say at every opportunity about Denise. It’s great that she’s taken over the child-rearing and all, but Charlie’s enabling/child-ditching/continued heavy drug use just pisses me off.

    Other than Denise, these kids have no parents – though Charlie garners sympathy/good words based on the fact that he’s a super-wealthy addict. It’s hard to believe she wasn’t using while pregnant, and he was taking part and paying for the drugs. And he now has another kid on the way, right?

    What a disaster. It’s not enough to know all of these kids will be paid for. Is Denise going to become the Angelina Jolie of only Charlie Sheen’s various offspring? MESS!

    • Ellie66 says:

      He has another kid on the way. 🙁 wow…

    • SBJ says:

      If I am not mistaken he will be a grandad this time. His 28 years old daughter is pregnant

      • Holly says:

        I think you’re right, my bad! I guess he only has the 5 kids – I could have sworn one of his recent “goddesses” was expecting; maybe he finally got snipped though?!

    • Aussie girl says:

      Well said holly!!!!! 🙂

      • SBJ says:

        Holly, I googled it and it seems that it was in 2011. It was not his as the “godesses” saw several men at the same time

        I really can’t understand that way of life but if they’re happy that way and don’t harm I guess why not ?

        It’s a lot childish though IMO…

    • Suzy from Ontario says:

      She was using while pregnant. There are articles out there detailing her trips to rehab for crystal meth while she was pregnant with the twins: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2324409/Brooke-Mueller-twice-went-rehab-crystal-meth-addiction-PREGNANT-sons-Bob-Max.html

      So who knows what health and developmental issues the twins may be dealing with due to that. She’s lucky that they weren’t born with severe deformities due to her using while pregnant because heavy meth usage can cause developmental and skeletal abnormalities. There have even been cases of crystal meth babies born without an arm or leg. Her selfishness has put these boys at enough risk imo!

  9. LAK says:

    Manual labor….LOL. are they out digging ditches and scrubbing the floors with nothing but a toothbrush?!

    i really want to know what is so hard about making your own bed.

  10. Aussie girl says:

    I really thought it was a joke when I read that Brooke has been in rehab 21 times. She has had one to many chances ( or maybe 20). Give the kids to Denise

  11. dorothy says:

    Good! I hope they take away those poor boys permanatley.Her parents must be so proud.

  12. Lucy2 says:

    I really applaud this judge- clearly has the kids best interests at heart, and probably saved their lives because of it.
    Brooke does not want to get better. What do you do with someone like that?

    • Joy says:

      Ditto. I work with kids, many of whom have addict parents and it takes an act of congress to get the kids removed. Not that it should be a quick and easy thing but damn, 21 rehab stays=can’t parent.

      • Ella says:

        Completely agree. I have worked with kids prostituted by their parent(s) to pay for their drug habit and it still takes an infuriatingly long time for the state to intervene sufficiently.

    • Emily C. says:

      Brooke does not want to get better. What do you do with someone like that?

      The person to figure this out is going to make a well-deserved mint.

  13. Quinn says:

    I agree that Charlie Sheen doesn’t really get as much sh*t as he should regarding his whole “impregnate and dump the results” routine. Just because he’s paying child support does NOT excuse the fact that he will totally headf*uck these children’s lives with his behavior. Along with the fact that he stuck two of them with Brooke Mueller for a mother. He sucks as bad as she does, and deserves JUST as much ire.

    • swack says:

      Quinn, ITA. Why is Charlie getting a pass on this? He is just as responsible and it is truly sad that he can’t sober up and clean up his act (get away from the prostitutes) to be able to take care of his own children. Throwing money at the situation doesn’t make you a man. Also, who cleans Brooke’s house? It’s sad that she thinks the basic things that she should be doing on a daily basis is “hard”.

    • LAK says:

      Charlie is to be commended for recognising that he ISN’T a fit person to look after his children, and providing them with loving alternatives. Yes, he shouldn’t keep having them, but at least he is self aware enough not to insist that they live with him through his drugs and hookers and goodness-knows-whatelse behaviour. The easiest thing for him to have done would be to have the children live with him, and hire indifferent nannies 24/7. Instead they are/were all being raised by someone who loves them, and not just a caretaker.

      And FYI Charlie’s eldest daughter has turned out normal despite having Charlie for a father, so we can only hope that the other 4 will also turn out all right.

      • Renee says:

        I get what you’re saying, but no. No way does he deserve to be commended for anything in this. The time to realize he was a crap parent was four kids ago. They are his kids, not Denise’s. They are his responsibility, along with Brooke’s. Pointing to his childishness and addiction instead of doing anything to remedy it is a horrific cop-out, and he owes his children better.

        He has made no sacrifice, at any point. THIS is the path of least resisitance. It’s easiest for him to throw money at the problem rather than make any real efforts to mature or parent. If they lived with him, it would cramp his hookers-and-coke style. So, he’d rather buy off the ex-wife he beat before dumping and trashing her, instead of cutting out the hard partying at nearly fifty.

      • LAK says:

        Renee – Some people are incapable of self improvement no matter their journey or responsibilities in life.

        Every time you come across bad parenting because the social workers felt kids should stay with their bad parents, you always wonder if it isn’t better that they are raised by wolves because in some cases, wolves would probably do a better job.

        Charlie is lucky that he has the money to throw at the problem.

        He is also very lucky in that he has good people to look after him and his mistakes in life. And by that i mean his own parents [they took in his eldest kid] and Denise.

        He is too old, too drug addled and too set in his ways. If he hasn’t changed in 30yrs, nothing short of a damascus moment is going to make him change, and even then, he’ll probably think it was just a trip!

        Yes, he should take care of his own kids, but he has proven repeatedly that he is not good with people, AND he recognises this aspect of his own character. the world is full of damaged people because their parents and or social workers wouldn’t do the right thing.

    • pwal says:

      I was thinking the same thing.

      Don’t get me wrong – it’s wonderful that Denise Richards is stepping up to the plate, but these children aren’t her responsibility; it’s Charlie and Brooke’s. And while it’s obvious that Brooke isn’t in play, no one seems to mention that Charlie is MIA too. Yes, he’s kicking in the money, but he’s not a consistent presence when he has the wherewithall to do so.

      It reminds me of that dust-up he had at the NY hotel with the p0rn star and Denise Richards was on the same floor, watching the kids. In that case, I think she was in charge of her daughters, but the very fact that monkey business was going on during an apparent family trip (family trip, since some of his children was within the vicinity) illustrates that his only interest is in whatever hedonistic impulse he wanted to satisfied at that particular moment and the children were an afterthought.

      He needs to get himself together, instead of picking fights with Backdoor Teen Mom and Selma Blair. And he definitely needs to stop using Denise Richards as his crutch.

    • lucy2 says:

      I agree – I’m glad he’s supporting them being with Denise because it’s the best place, but he is someone who should flat out not be reproducing, and he should get shit for it. He knows he’s unfit – great, what’s he doing to improve that?

  14. chria says:

    dannng lohan is a saint compared to this hot mess

  15. kmd0113 says:

    Brook does need to get her shit together. I am wondering what the statistics are in the “success” rate of rehab (and if you measure success by no relapses or with minimal relapses following sobriety). In the state of TX relapse rate for drugs is over 90% and alcohol is in the 80’s. Meth is also one of the hardest drugs to get off of. I am not saying it is impossible, because it is not. However, I think the addict needs to completely want to change for this to work. She seems to be a little narcissistic which is a quality Lohan also shares, and I think having that type of personality makes it so much harder to remain sober. I really do hope both of those women can finally get sober. And a side note: thank God for Denis Richards. That woman is amazing, and the twins definitely have an amazing role model in their lives.

  16. fabgrrl says:

    She can’t handle the “manual labor and chores” of Betty Ford, yet thinks she can care for of 4 year old twin boys?!?!?!

    • emmie_a says:

      Excellent point, fabgrrl. Thank God the boys are with Denise. I haven’t read anything about the chances of Brooke losing permanent custody of the boys, but I hope that’s what happens.

    • gogoGorilla says:

      Well, no. She can “care for the cash” and leave the kids to the nanny.

      She’s an asswipe. I hope Denise gets permanent custody.

  17. serena says:

    Thank god denise is there taking care of the twins. Charlie and Brooke should just kiss the street she’s walking on.

    • K says:

      Yeah, my only thoughts when reading this stuff are: thank God Denise Richards is in this story.

  18. janie says:

    I’m curious why no one in Charlie’s family hasn’t stepped up? Brooke’s family seems as unfit as her. The boys are in a safe place, I guess the rest will work itself out. Thank goodness for Denise and the Judge.

    • gogoGorilla says:

      I think I read that Martin Sheen and his wife raised Charlie’s first kid (who is in her late 20s) and then said – no way. You can’t really blame them. They’ve got to be in their 60s, at least. They are much better off with Denise.

    • fabgrrl says:

      Well, Martin and his wife probably know that Denise is the best caretaker. Better than they can be at their age, plus the boys get to live with their sisters. I’d imagine they babysit and chauffeur whenever they are asked.

  19. Murphy says:

    Max and Bob only have TWO half sisters.

    • Isa says:

      Well, Sheen does have another daughter from before his marriage to Denise so they do have 3 half-sisters.

      I assume what you mean to say is that Eloise is not technically related to the twin boys. But I hope that they learn from Denise’s example that Family does not start and end with being related though blood. Denise probably loves and cares for them more than Brooke ever will, despite not being a blood relative. If they do end up being raised by her (and I hope they do), then they probably should see Eloise as a sibling as well.

    • Hipocricy says:

      Nope, they have THREE half sisters, including Charlie’s eldest daughter from a previous Relationship well before Denise.

      And as for Denise’s adopted daughter, we can say that she is technically their step sis too, even if it’s not official.

    • Celebitchy says:

      I just referred to Eloise as a half-sister too because she’s Denise’s daughter. I didn’t want to get all technical and say “two half sisters and an adopted sister” that sounds ridiculous.

      • Mia 4S says:

        Makes perfect sense. God willing she will be a fourth sister to the twins….they’re going to need all the good family they can get. 🙁 .

      • Stoner says:

        Why not just say “sisters”?

        All of my brothers and sisters have a different bio-father, and I can’t imagine ever referring to them as “half” siblings.

      • the original bellaluna says:

        I like the way you worded it. In our family, we don’t use the word “step” or “half” with regard to siblings, children, or parents. Mom is Mom; Dad is Dad; all the grandkids are Grandkids; my sister is my Sister; my brother’s my Brother, and his wife is my Sister…you get the idea.

        Our parents strove to ensure the same amount of money was spent on not only us kids, but our spouses and children (for birthdays, holidays, etc…) and have always been loving and supportive of all of us.

      • Shoe_Lover says:

        CB there was a rumour that Eloise is actually Charlie’s child that he had with some random who didnt want her and Denise adopted her.
        I doubt its true but just sharing

  20. BooBooLaRue says:

    Wow just wow. Never been a fan of Denise’s acting career, but she has earned respect in my eyes for being a good person. 21 times in rehab? Just wow.

  21. Debra says:

    I still don’t understand how anyone can hand a known drug addict 55 grand every month and expect her to do anything other than stay high as a kite…. they should have a person who pays her bills and expenses and for the kids things, and the rest should go into an account that she can’t touch.. she should never have access to that money

    • Axis2ClusterB says:

      This. They should put a fiduciary in charge of her money. She’s proven time and again that she needs a keeper.

      • the original bellaluna says:

        Seriously. I don’t understand why one hasn’t been appointed already? I mean, we’ve read the articles about how she’s living “paycheck to paycheck” on that exorbitant amount of child support, AND she also got proceeds of the house when it sold as part of a monetary settlement.

        Charlie needs to cut off the child support train for Brooke and start giving it to Denise, whether she wants it or not. And for her part, Denise seems to have managed just fine on her settlement and child support from Charlie.

  22. Mary says:

    Denise is a saint. Charlie and Brooke should be ashamed of themselves

  23. Denver Danni says:

    Charlie’s oldest daughter turned out well – because she was raised BY HIS PARENTS. I sick that people say “he should be commended for recognizing he can’t parent.” I think commendable action would be to clean up his life, dump the toxins, and raise the children he brought into this world. Continuously having children for whom he doesn’t care is not commendable. Yes, the kids are where they should be for now, but he’s a puke and a worthless human being.

  24. G says:

    In California it’s very rare that a judge will take children from the mother. She would have to be a total mess.

    I also want to throw shade at CHARLIE because those are HIS boys. He needs to get it together at least for them. He’s had time to clean up.

  25. Sabrine says:

    Martin Sheen and his wife are getting older. You can’t really expect them to take on a set of twins. There really is no one else other than Denise or foster care. The scary thing is that Brooke could eventually get them back. If not, her support should be cut in half. She doesn’t deserve anything but she is still the boys’ mother and that would hopefully keep her out of the gutter, barring her blowing it all on drugs.

    Paying her $55 K a month is just wrong if she has lost custody of the twins.

  26. Lem says:

    Brooke from the day she got knocked up has been an unfit mother. I can’t imagine the hell those boys have been through at the hands of Chuck, Brooke, and the goddesses. The fact that she had/has never been alone with them I find comforting. All that early bonding they missed and the unmentioniable things their poor baby brains have ingested. Babies shouldn’t have such an uphill battle. Hopefully, hopefully, they are not too damaged.
    I feel like good time Charlie will eventually either “buy” custody from Brooke to hand over to Denise (a la Michael Jackson/Debbie Rowe) or agree to pay her alimony nearish her child support to go away. She will go w/o the boys but she’ll never roll over without the cash.
    She’s super stupid/addicted/sick. He could easily offer her a piddly lump sum and a small house. Normally I’m not so callus but to inflict what she has on those children, for years… Let her spiral.

  27. lisa says:

    good for the judge for thinking outside the box since denise isnt technically related

    i remember an interview with elizabeth taylor and she talked about how in rehab they had chores, she cleaned the bathroom. the interviewer was sort of shocked that liz was cleaning bathrooms. but liz had no problem with it. so i am LOLing with a whole bunch of side eye that brooke mueller thinks she is too good to do chores.

    • the original bellaluna says:

      Thanks for sharing that story! 🙂 If Dame Elizabeth isn’t above bathroom cleaning, neither the hell is Brooke!

  28. Jo 'Mama' Besser says:

    But people seem to think he’s better than Kanye West. Right.

  29. Noinin says:

    21 rehabs must represent a huge chunk of money. I’d love to know how much people have spent for her.

  30. Jennifer12 says:

    Sad that it took so many years to say what everyone knows: Brooke is an unfit parent. So is Charlie, but at least he admits it.

  31. Qwerty says:

    Was Brooke ever normal or was she always a crackie? I don’t seem to remember her being this into drugs until after she divorced Charlie sheen.

    • andrea says:

      I just looked at her wiki page and it says she was first arrested for a DUI in 1996. And that it says she admitting to taking wine, cocaine, and some other thing. Then in 2001 she was arrested for cocaine possession again.

      She married charlie sheen in 2008, and they divorced in 2010.

      So looks like she had problems waaay before but dating charlie sheen probably didn’t help.

  32. Jay Elle says:

    I LOVE how Denise has stepped up to care for these children. What an incredible heart she has.