Denise Richards ‘Very Flirty’ With Charlie Sheen as Ex Steps Up Amid Messy Split From Aaron Phypers

Tinseltown bad boy Charlie Sheen has been boosting former wife Denise Richards during her ugly divorce from Aaron Phypers and pals tattle there’s still a major spark between the pair and predict the former twosome will soon reunite.

The couple were wed from 2002 to 2006 and share daughters Sami, 22, and Lola, 20, and sources say the former Two and a Half Men sitcom star, 60, still carries a torch for the 55-year-old Real Housewives of Beverly Hills beauty currently mired in a vicious divorce battle.

“Charlie is great in a crisis,” notes an insider. “He’s totally stepped up for Denise through everything that’s gone on with Aaron. He’s offered a shoulder to cry on, money, and anything else she could possibly need.”

“She says she doesn’t know how she’d have made it through this without Charlie. He even helped her out when she was recovering from her plastic surgery, which he’s been so supportive of. He’s constantly telling her that she looks better than she ever has.”

While Charlie, who’s admitted to a wild sex life with gals and guys, is currently feuding with older daughter Sami, he spent a day with Denise and Lola on March 25 and his kid was thrilled.

“Awe dad!!! I love you so much, today was so special to me,” Lola commented on Charlie’s Instagram post about the family outing.

Meanwhile, Sami said on an episode of Denise Richards & Her Wild Things of their relationship, according to People: “Me and my dad haven’t really spoken much in the past five months. It goes in very big chunks with him. I think for the first 13 years of my life, it was pretty bad, and then we were OK for a couple years, and now it’s just, like, OK.”

Still insiders say that Charlie would love to reunite with Denise. “He’s like a puppy dog when she’s around, it’s obvious he wants her back,” spills the insider. “He has never stopped loving her — he always says she’s the one that got away.”

And the feelings seem mutual. “She’s very flirty with him too,” adds the source. “Denise loves to be taken care of and when Charlie is at his best, he can be very nurturing. That is very much the key to her heart.”

“There’s a real spark back between them! Whether that will play out long term is anyone’s guess, but no doubt he would love it.”