SamboraBlog

By Eric Munn
THESE are the intimate pictures that reveal love-split actress Denise Richards's secret affair.

Denise - currently involved in a bitter divorce battle with bad boy actor Charlie Sheen - turned to her old pal Heather Locklear for comfort after her break-up.

But, just months later, former Bond girl Denise is in the arms of Heather's estranged husband, Bon Jovi rocker Richie Sambora.

Their romance bloomed after Spin City star Heather, 44, filed for divorce from Sambora.

But the new lovers still tried desperately to keep her - and the rest of Hollywood - in the dark by snatching secret meetings at a house Richie, 46, had bought for his parents in Westlake, California.

Insiders say they have been inseparable since February.

And now their relationship has been exposed, they are able to spend time together at Richie's home in Laguna Beach, where the pictures of them kissing and cuddling were taken.

The lovers can be seen straddling each other on the balcony with Richie's hand playing with the waistband of Denise's pink polka-dot panties.

In another shot, taken after the couple walked hand-in-hand along the shore, they are seen rolling around in the sand.

One friend said yesterday the pair were serious about the relationship.

The friend added: "They are concerned about how Heather is going to take it.

"She doesn't have a clue - she is going to go crazy. But they just couldn't help themselves."

The move is going to be especially hurtful to Heather because she was Denise's shoulder to cry on after the Richards-Sheen marriage first hit difficulties last March.

The pair were regularly seen out together at the time.

Mum-of-two Denise and Sheen tried one last shot at saving the marriage with a trip to Barbados in January.

But it was a disaster and she has accused Sheen of being a violent drug abuser with a liking for gay porn and child sex websites.

Heather filed for divorce from Richie on February 2, apparently after finding sexy snaps of another woman on his computer.

An insider said last night that Heather and Denise's friendship had fizzled out before then.

He said: "Heather stopped talking regularly to Denise before New Year. They went back and forth, there were times they weren't speaking then they would.

"The friendship just fell apart."

Sheen introduced the actresses when he was co-starring with Heather in Spin City and dating Denise.

Denise went on to appear in several episodes of the sitcom, set in the office of a fictional New York mayor.

Insiders say Denise and Richie rarely spoke to each other.

But they met by chance a week after he was told - by a reporter - that Heather was planning to divorce him.

The source added: "When all this hell was coming down for both of them, Denise ran into Richie at a house party.

"Richie was like, 'Oh my god you're going through hell,' and Denise was like, 'Yeah, but you must be too'.

"They started exchanging notes with each other about their custody issues and the friendship ignited the romance.

"It wasn't even a thought in their mind before either of their divorces were filed.

"They had never really talked to each other in depth until they were both single and had been through this hell. They keyed into what the other was going through.

"It looks like a lifetime thing is developing between them. That is already obvious. It's not just a fling."

If all this sounds a bit like a real-life soap opera, it's only half the story. Richie's old flames include veteran singer Cher and Heather was previously married to rocker Tommy Lee, who went on to wed Pamela Anderson.

'Heather doesn't have a clue. She is going to go crazy but Denise and Richie just couldn't help themselves'