Celebrating Sami! Denise Richards penned a touching tribute for her eldest daughter’s 18th birthday.
“In a blink of an eye you’re 18 …. !!!!” the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 51, captioned a Wednesday, March 9, Instagram slideshow. “Happy Birthday my beautiful Sami. I love you so much. Privately many more words to share with you. I love you unconditionally and I am very blessed and grateful to be your mom. And Nana is looking down celebrating with you. I love you my sweet Sam. Happy 18th Birthday!”
The birthday girl commented on the social media upload: “Thank you so much mom I love you too.”
Richards gave birth to Sami in 2004 with then-husband Charlie Sheen, followed by daughter Lola, now 16, the following year.
The former couple split in 2006, and their own contentious battles made headlines for years. Eventually, the ex partners were able to coparent amicably, with the reality star exclusively telling Us Weekly in May 2020 that she and the 56-year-old actor have a “great” coparenting relationship. Raising teenagers can be hard, though, and later that month, Richards told her Bravo costars that she was “struggling” to parent their teens.
“Sami, I think sometimes she does things hoping to get a reaction out of me,” the Illinois native, who is also the mother of Eloise, 10, said during the RHOBH episode. “It’s not easy.”
In September 2021, Sami claimed via TikTok that she left her mom’s allegedly “abusive” household to live with the Two and a Half Men alum.
“Finally moved out of the hell house, had a spiritual awakening, own two cats, happy single, full of self love, and dropped out of high school,” the teenager captioned the video.
An insider exclusively told Us at the time that “Sami decide to live with her dad” where “rules and curfew aren’t really set into stone,” noting that Lola still lives with Richards.
“Charlie is the good time dad,” the source explained. “Denise wants her daughters to have boundaries, not be out all hours of the night, and she has no desire to be their friend at this time of their life. The time will come later as the girls grow older for Denise to be their friend.”
A judge ruled the following month that Sheen would no longer have to pay Richards child support. “I think what transpired today is extremely fair,” the New York native told Us in October 2021.
Last month, Richards told Jeff Lewis that her relationship was Sami is still “strained,” explaining, “It’s very difficult. I know though [that] we’ll get back to where we were, eventually. Right now, it is strained.”
