has been rocked by horrible ratings of her reality show, Denise Richards & Her Wild Things, and a source exclusively tells In Touch she’s in major despair and searching high and low for a Hail Mary to turn her fortunes around before it’s too late, as her stress and money woes come home to roost. 

“Denise had very high hopes for this show, she genuinely thought people would tune in because there has always been so much interest in her private life and her dynamic with [] and their daughters,” the insider says. “She really can’t understand why the viewers haven’t flocked to the show, she really thought it was going to be a slam dunk.” 

The series, the first episode of which premiered on March 4, has been facing declining viewership with every subsequent episode and is currently the eighth most-watched show on Bravo’s roster. It’s falling far short of the network’s other reality TV endeavors, including Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, on which Denise, 54, had appeared sporadically throughout the 2024 season. Another RHOBH alum, , found startling success with her spin-off, Vanderpump Rules, which had occupied the No. 1 spot on Bravo’s rankings, but the Starship Trooper actress’ newest project just isn’t living up to the hype, despite audiences generally loving it.

“It’s all blown up in her face and she’s having to deal with Brooke Mueller going around complaining she hasn’t been paid,” the source adds. “It’s extremely embarrassing, because she knows there are plenty of people rooting for her to fail.” 

“Her old Housewives enemies are being very petty and taking a lot of joy in her low ratings, which of course is tough to swallow.” 

There are heavier stresses than catty gossip on Denise’s mind, though. Her financial troubles are well-known and were highlighted after she joined OnlyFans in 2022. In 2021, a court ruled her ex-husband Charlie was no longer required to keep up with his child support payments for their two daughters, Sami and Lola, despite the girls being 16 and 17 at the time, which reportedly “blindsided” the James Bond actress. 

A different source told The U.S. Sun, “The only reason she’s doing the reality show is the same reason she’s doing her OnlyFans — she needs the money,” and that her appearances on RHOBH were motivated by the same need.

“She never in a million years thought Charlie would file to stop paying child support and she was blindsided when the court ruled against her,” that source said.

In Touch’s insider agrees, “The bigger issue is that she signed on to this because she and Aaron need the money and, with reality TV, the big bucks doesn’t start coming until the second, or even third season.” 

“She needs this to be a hit if she’s going to cash in to the level she and Aaron need. She’s desperately trying to drum up more publicity to try and get viewers to tune in,” the source adds, “but unless something changes, this is going to be a complete flop.”