These photos are from 2007

I think it was the illustrious J-Wowww who compared reconciling with an old boyfriend to reheating cooked pasta. It’s a good analogy, really, because an old flame can seem familiar and comforting but much blander and staler the second time around. When we’re talking about Richie Sambora, I guess it’s more like reheating spoiled meat though. He never was a catch and never will be, although I guess a drunken rocker can seem like an awesome boyfriend when you compare him to a drugged out TV star who hires hookers he finds on the Barely Legal adult film series.

Anyway last year The Enquirer was claiming that these two were together over the summer, I had forgotten about that. They were first linked in 2006, broke up about a year later, and now they’re supposedly together yet again, according to The Enquirer’s sister site, Radar Online. I doubt they’ve been together since last summer this go-round. I bet Denise just calls her tabloid contacts whenever she has dinner with Richie. Here’s more:

They say love never dies!

Bombshell beauty Denise Richards is back together with her ex-boyfriend Richie Sambora, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned.

“They are dating again,” a source close to the couple revealed.

Richards, 40, and Sambora, 52, dated in 2006 following their divorces from Charlie Sheen and Heather Locklear, respectively, but broke up in 2007.

Now it seems like the pair have reconciled again, following a romantic dinner at Tatsuki sushi restaurant in Woodland Hills, California on Sunday night. “They were there over an hour and they had the whole place to themselves for the last half hour.”

Denise and Richie walked by a tattoo parlor on the way out of the restaurant and he joked to Denise, “What do ya think, should I get one?” and she laughed.

“It is serious but they are trying to keep it low key,” the source told RadarOnline.com about the on again couple.

[From Radar Online]

The “low key” crap is very similar to the story last year about how they were “staying out of the public eye because they didn’t want to become part of the media hoopla surrounding their ex-spouses.” Denise probably wants to hit up a few red carpets and have dinner at Mr. Chow but Richie is probably telling her “no.” So she’s telling Radar and The Enquirer that they’re trying to keep it “low key.”

This is mildly interesting to me on a “what is she thinking?” level. If Denise and Richie started getting papped together I think the collective response would be a shrug and she knows that. So… well played?

Here’s Denise and Richie on vacation on 01/31/07. Is she putting on sunscreen or sniffing something?

Photo credit: Fame Pictures

Denise Richards is making the rounds to promote her memoir, The Real Girl Next Door, which she takes great pains to explain is not a Charlie Sheen-bashing book but, instead, will share their beautiful love story. She really could’ve spared us that detail, but Denise has also been very busy lately adopting a baby girl and holding a baby shower. Plus, she’s currently in the midst of her morning show tour. These photos are of Denise outside her visit to FOX studios, and it looks like someone got a wee bit carried away with the sparkly arm stuff. I love the color and swishiness of the dress, but Denise looks like she’s auditioning for a role as Breaking Dawn extra:

In addition, Denise also popped over to the “Today” show and chatted for awhile with Matt Lauer about her book:

On Her Relationship With Charlie Sheen: Well, everyone asks me why I married him, which I get into in the book. but — and the man I fell in love with is very compassionate, humble, has a wonderful heart, and the behavior that a lot of us saw in the last six months is not the person that I met and fell in love with. The details of our actual divorce are private between Charlie and I. I get into, in the book, more about how I felt. I think a lot of women and men who are going through divorce can relate to the feelings of being angry and scared and guilty and whatever. That’s what I wanted to touch on and hopefully be relatable to other people instead of the details of what actually happened.

On Shielding Her Daughters From The Warlock Phenom: As far as the media, I shield them completely but there’s a few things they would hear, you know, through other kids. And there was a point where I — the recent stuff of everything that we all saw on the shows and all of that I did not discuss. But I did have to have a conversation with them about addiction and got a book to read to them because I was just lying to them so much and covering up and telling lies. It was just getting too confuse confusing that I needed to sit down with them.

I think it’s too early. They’re so young. I think that they — the book is written for children, so I think they did comprehend some of it. As they get older, they’ll learn more as needed. But I told them enough that they needed right then. I think for them to make sense of some things that were going on.

On Rumors That She Broke Up Heather Locklear and Richie Sambora’s Marriage: It was extremely difficult. And if I did break up a marriage or have an affair I would — I’ve been through so much, I would admit it and take it on the chin and admit my mistakes. I could have handled that situation different. But the fact of the matter is he was divorced, I was divorced, and then, you know, we got together and that was what happened. I get into a little bit of that.

On Why She Wrote The Book: I went through so much. I couldn’t get a job. I was dealing with my mom dying who did die. I was going through a horrible divorce. All these awful headlines. And it was a very difficult time. And also with Richie, his father was diagnosed with cancer two weeks after my mom and they both had passed away shortly, you know, after that. So it was very hard. I want someone who is going through a decision, whether it’s divorce, lost their job, whatever it is, and you feel — I hit rock bottom. And to have hope that you can get to the other side and there is light at the end of the tunnel.

On Whether She’s Worried About Charlie: Of course. He’s the father of our daughters, and I still care very much for him and want him well. But he’s also a survivor and if anyone can pull themselves together, it’s Charlie.

[From Today]

I give major props to Denise for her continued attempts to maintain diplomatic relations with the likes of Mr. Deluded Tigerblood. It’s always difficult to put on friendly airs with an ex-spouse for the benefit of the children, and I can’t even imagine how awful it would be to do so when that ex just happens to be Charlie Sheen. One day, Sam and Lola will grow up and read about their father’s unhinged, drugged-up behavior, and they’ll realize that their mother was doing the correct thing by protecting them from the spectacle during their formative years. So Charlie isn’t and will never be truly “winning” in life or as a parent. Denise is the real winner here.

Here’s video from the “Today” appearance as well:

Photos courtesy of WENN

Denise and Richie in 2006

Remember back in 2006 when there was all that controversy about Denise Richards dating Richie Sambora, who just happened to be the very recent ex of her neighbor and former BFF, Heather Locklear? There were no homewrecking allegations against Richards at the time, as Sambora and Locklear had already split up after 11 years of marriage for other reasons. (Locklear is said to have surprised Sambora with divorce papers after finding nude photos in his e-mail of one of his assistants. Richards had recently broken up with Charlie Sheen for more compelling reasons like threatening to kill her and an online porn and gambling addiction.)

Richards and Sambora eventually broke up after about a year, shortly before Sambora went to rehab for alcoholism. (He got a DUI the following year, in March, 2008, with his 10 year-old daughter in the car. He got off with probation and a fine.)

Now The National Enquirer is claiming that these two are back together, and they’re trying to keep it quiet.

Romance between Denise Richards and Richie Sambora is rockin’ once again.

The actress and the Bon Jovi guitarist have been secretly dating for weeks, sources tell The Enquirer – and they’re trying to keep their rekindled relationship on the down-low because of the troubes of their high-profile former spouses.

Denise, 39, and Richie, 50, began dating in 2006 after their marriages crumbled…

Although things fizzled after a year, “Denise and Richie never really stopped loving each other, a close friend told The Enquirer.

The two recently shared a quiet date at home, cuddling up with DVDs and popcorn, deliberately staying out of the public eye because they didn’t want to become part of the media hoopla surrounding their ex-spouses….

Richie had worked hard to stay on the straight and narrow [after his DUI], say those close to him.

Added the friend: “Denise was impressed enough to give him a second chance.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, June 14, 2010]

I’m guessing this “friend”/source is Denise, who can’t stand it that Richie won’t go out with her for a “quiet” date at the Ivy or a shopping trip to Kitson. You know that Denise would love to make it known that she’s back with Richie so she’s telling the Enquirer and hoping it looks like people still care. We do, I guess, I mean we’re reporting on it. I just wish that Denise would figure out that she can do so much better than Richie, but maybe she doesn’t want to. She seems to have a thing for addicts with serious baggage, although Richie is definitely a step up from Charlie Sheen.

Richie Sambora is shown at a photocall for Bon Jovi in Madrid today, 6/4/10, Denise is shown at a pet adoption event on 5/23/10 and a QVC pre Oscar party on 3/4/10. These two are shown together in older pictures, on 4/20/07 outside their hotel in NY City and on 9/7/06 at an event. All photos credit: WENN.com.

Though he went to rehab twice last year, in July and September, sobriety is apparently still an elusive concept for Richie Sambora. The Bon Jovi guitarist was arrested late last night and cited for driving under the influence in Laguna Beach. Police also confirmed that he had a female passenger in the car with him, who TMZ is reporting was his 10-year-old daughter Ava. Ava’s mother is Sambora’s ex-wife Heather Locklear.

Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Jason Kravetz confirmed to E! News that officers first spotted the 47-year-old’s black Hummer driving erratically on the Pacific Coast Highway at roughly 10:52 p.m. Tuesday. Officers briefly followed his swerving vehicle before pulling him over.

The Lost Highway rocker was administered several field sobriety tests, all of which he failed, and was taken into custody just after 11 p.m.

Once at the nearby police station, the rocker, whom cops described as being “very cooperative,” opted to take a blood test in lieu of a Breathalyzer. His blood-alcohol level has yet to be released, though police say there was no indication of drugs in his system.

Sambora was booked, briefly housed and released from the station just after 4 a.m. Wednesday morning on his own recognizance.

[From E! News]

My mind will never cease to be boggled by the sheer amount of celebrities who cannot seem to afford to call a cab or a car service. I’d be interested to find out if the percentage of DUIs is higher for famous people, or if it just seems that way because they get attention for it. Driving drunk is absolutely inexcusable, driving drunk with your 10-year-old in the car is beyond my comprehension. And I have to say that – while it’s never a good idea to piss off your ex – it’s an extra bad idea to do that when your ex is Heather Locklear. I obviously don’t know the woman, but she just has that, “Mess with me and I’ll grind your balls into the cement,” expression on her face all the time. I can only imagine what would happen if you messed with her kid.

Seriously, the celebrity DUI thing is so played out that I can’t even summon righteous indignation anymore. It’s really sad that this has become so commonplace that it just merits a shoulder shrug.

Here’s Richie Sambora with ex-wife Heather Locklear and daughter Ava at the “Perfect Man” premiere in June of 2005. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Update by Celebitchy: US Weekly reports that three other females were in the car, two of them juveniles, according to police. That probably means that one of Ava’s friends was n the car, along with another adult passenger. TMZ notes that Sambora could be charged with child endangerment.

Denise Richards and Richie Sambora on a Hawaiian vacation in January, 2007
Denise Richards has a reality show on E! to promote, so she’s not above talking about Richie Sambora and Heather Locklear again even though her relationship with Sambora ended a year ago. Some people thought she was behind her neighbor and supposed friend Heather Locklear’s breakup with her husband of 11 years, Richie Sambora, about two years ago. Richards started dating Sambora shortly after his relationship with Locklear ended and it all looked a bit suspicious to the outside world. Richards said at the time that she wasn’t really best friends with Heather Locklear, and now she digging up that old dirt again to say that her friendship with Locklear had ended before she bedded Locklear’s husband, and that Locklear and Sambora were over by then too. Richards tried to set us straight about the love triangle no one remembers or even really cared about at the time in an exclusive interview with Access Hollywood.

Honestly I knew that that situation was not going to go over very well and was going to be in the press. I had no idea that it would blow up the way it did. The truth of the matter is that my friendship with Heather ended before Richie and I even started dating and that’s one thing that people, I don’t know if they knew or not. I never had an affair. I never cheated on Charlie. Richie never cheated on Heather, and if I was still friends with Heather I never would have

[Transcribed from video of Richards' appearance on Access Hollywood, shown above via Redlasso]

JayBird reported last week about how Richards said that she initially “was going to take the high road” and not respond to all the negative reports in the press about her, but now that two years have passed she thinks it’s time for a reality show so that people can judge for themselves. She won a court battle with her ex husband, Charlie Sheen, to have their two young daughters appear on the show. Even though we know Sheen loves hookers and porn, and probably e-mails pictures of his peen to women, he’s coming off as the more mature and trustworthy party in their divorce and custody battle.

Now we can look forward to clips of Richards everyday life, spliced and packaged and available in bite-sized bits for our Internet viewing pleasure. If there’s anything that will make her look bad, it’s reality TV. She’s sounding super naive when she says that she thinks it will give her a chance to show people what she’s really like. She’s going to become a caricature so that the show has a cohesive story line. Maybe she’ll just be portrayed as a bland ditz, though, and not a crazy conniving one to boot.

Here’s the video of Richards on Access Hollywood:

Header image is of Denise and Richie’s Hawaiian vacation in January, 2007 and is from SplashNews. It is thought that he broke it off with her during that vacation.

While tabloid reports had Denise Richards breaking up with Richie Sambora over his drinking problem, a report in yesterday’s NY Daily News claims that Sambora was the one who pulled the plug on their rebound relationship. Richards was devastated during their Hawaiian vacation at the end of January when, instead of proposing as expected, Sambora broke up with her. She even hid their breakup for months, referring to the relationship in a subsequent interview with Glamour magazine as if they were still an item.

Now Denise is looking for a new man who can provide for her in the luxury brand-name style that she’s accustomed to. She’s said to have hired a super expensive matchmaker who specializes in setting up gold diggers like Denise with millionaire mates looking for trophy wives:

Denise Richards is looking for a husband the old-fashioned way – by using a matchmaker! But the price of finding true love isn’t cheap. Insiders tell Star that Denise, 36, could be paying up to $50,000 to find Mr. Right through an exclusive matchmaking agency.

“It’s a very high-end service, and it’s extremely private,” says the source. “They ask for as much as $50,000 for a two-year contract. They have thousands of clients and specialize in very wealthy executives. These men don’t have time to hunt for a mate. Also, the type of women they are looking for – beautiful and successful – doesn’t [sic] hang out at bars. They have to be found.”

[From Star Magazine print edition, July 16, 2007]

It seems like Denise could save a lot of money by looking online like so many other people. She probably isn’t that computer or Internet-savvy, though, and might get duped. She also might run into her ex, Charlie Sheen. Last year he was said to be using a site called millionairematch to look for a mate.

Whatever Sheen was doing to find a girlfriend, it seems to have worked. He has been dating a 28 year-old real estate investor, Brooke Wolofsky, since last June. The two were most recently photographed together in May of this year and are assumed to be doing well. Maybe Sheen can give Richards a little advice on how to find someone online.

Header image is of Denise and Richie’s Hawaiian vacation in January and is from SplashNews.

Denise Richards maybe didn’t cheat with Richie Sambora, but she definitely snatched him right up after urging her neighbor and best friend, Heather Locklear, to divorce him. Now she’s rumored to be planning a wedding with the Bon Jovi guitarist!

Denise seems like a needy person who can’t deal with being single. She followed Sambora on tour like a puppy after he said he was single during a concert, and she made the dumb move of having her publicist confirm their relationship. We hope this isn’t true and she’ll think twice before jumping into marriage again. Her first one didn’t work out so well, and she’s not even divorced yet.

Heather’s going to flip when she hears this, and she’s sure to do something much worse than driving by Denise’s house playing loud Bon Jovi tunes.

Denise Richard’s divorce lawyer has filed papers requesting that Charlie Sheen’s pension funds be considered part of the couple’s joint assets. Denise isn’t just content to smear Sheen and take half of his money, she wants to ruin his retirement too:

That’s cold! Denise is going for the jugular in this divorce.

She’s an ambitious woman, that’s for sure. After Richie Sambora announced that he was single while at a Bon Jovi gig in Germany she had her publicist deny that that had broken up and promptly rushed to his side. Her desperate measures seem to have worked, judging from these pictures of these two at the seaside in Italy. [via]

I never believed these two were a couple, because there was only one report of them going out to dinner and kissing that got repeated a couple weeks after it first came out. Other than that there wasn’t much evidence and no pictures, although Spade did defend Locklear to the press by saying that “She’s still nursing the knife wound in her back” [from Denise Richards] He also did a dumb skit on his show about it, using paper dolls to pretend that Richards apologized for saying he dated Locklear before she split up with her estranged husband, Richie Sambora (video below.)

MSNBC’s “The Scoop” is reporting the relationship between Spade and Locklear is over:

Locklear’s ex, Richie Sambora, is still dating his neighbor Denise Richards, despite reports that the two have broken up. Richard’s rep confirmed that they’re still together and said that Sambora’s recent comment at a Bon Jovi gig in Germany, in which he claimed to be “Single and ready to party” was just part of his rock-star personae.

Now Richards is flying to Europe to join Sambora while he’s on tour.

That sounds kind of desperate and we’ve joined team Sheen in the Richards/Sheen divorce battle. With the latest news that Richards is starting her own children’s clothing line to directly compete with her husband’s business venture, she’s clearly out to get him. Plus, whose rep ever confirms a rebound relationship? That’s just lame.

As for Sambora and Locklear, we’re not sure who to root for because it doesn’t seem like anyone is at fault. Denise Richards can take the blame there as well.

Here’s Spade doing his dumb skit in which he pretends to talk to Denise Richards, using paper dolls to act it out:

You’ve probably heard that Denise Richards and Heather Locklear had a falling out over the fact that Denise is dating Heather’s ex, Richie Sambora.

It turns out that they were best friends and lived right next door to each other LA. They also shared an on-screen girl-on-girl kiss in Locklear’s show Spin City

Heather told Denise she was dead to her after learning of Denise’s affair with her estranged husband:

Meow! Locklear can be as much as a bitch as the characters she portrays. Locklear suprised Sambora with divorce papers this February after 11 years of marriage. She is said to have discovered an e-mail sent to Sambora by a former assistant who enclosed nude pictures of herself. Locklear may be dating David Spade now, but there’s not a lot of evidence and Spade denies the relationship.

Denise Richards filed for divorce from Charlie Sheen in March after a tumultuous relationship. She alleges that Sheen threatened to kill her and was addicted to gambling, pain pills, and porn.

It looks like Richards and Sambora are pretty happy swapping partners with their neighbors. Too bad Locklear is so bitter about it. Pictures [via]

Update: Denise Richards urged Heather Locklear to file for divorce! No wonder she’s so pissed!