Denise Richards really seems to have some problems with the truth. Not that that’s news to anyone, but she’s increasingly getting caught for all of her lies. The actress has long been called out on fudging the details in her relationship with ex-boyfriend Richie Sambora. Richie is the ex-husband of Denise’s former best friend Heather Locklear. Denise has always claimed that she and Heather hadn’t been friends for several months when she and Richie started dating – but most people agree that’s a load of crap.

Denise Richards claims to be “setting the record straight” on her new E! reality show, “It’s Complicated,” but several sources who know the actress say it’s a record that she’s making up.

On the show, Richards says more than once that she’s no husband stealer, claiming that she and Heather Locklear weren’t friends for months before she started dating Locklear’s estranged husband, Richie Sambora – and that the relationship started only after Locklear and Sambora split. But a Locklear pal says otherwise.

“Heather has phone records that prove Denise was calling Richie while Heather was still married to him,” our source said. “Heather was such a good friend to Denise. She gave Denise clothes and offered her a shoulder to cry on when she and [now ex-husband] Charlie [Sheen] split up – there are even photos in the press of Heather taking Denise out after she and Charlie split. And then a few weeks later – not months – Denise starts dating Richie.

“For Denise to claim that not only did she not initiate contact with Richie but that she and Heather weren’t friends for three months before she took up with him, well, that’s just absurd and an outright lie.

[From the New York Post]

Denise has also downplayed how many animals she has. It turns out she’s an animal collector, a la Paris Hilton.

On her show, Richards also says she has five dogs, four cats and three pigs. But an insider said, “Please – she has over 20 dogs, five cats, three pigs and several guinea pigs. Her place is like a zoo. She collects animals.”

Richards, via a rep, told us: “I will not respond to these tireless rumors. It’s such old news. I will say I have 10 dogs. Is there a law against having a lot of animals? My family loves animals, I live on a ranch, and I provide a great environment for them, so I am not sure why there is so much drama about how many animals I have.”

[From the New York Post]

First off, yes there is a law against having a lot of animals. Several laws. It obviously varies by county, and perhaps living on a ranch gives Richards a little more leeway, but yes, there is a law.

Secondly, on the show Denise specifically states that she has five dogs. In her response, she admits that she has at least ten. Yet she doesn’t seem to realize that she’s just been caught in a very obvious lie. And the phrasing “I will say that I have 10 dogs” seems odd to me. She didn’t say “I have ten dogs.” It’s more like, “I’ll admit to ten.” And considering five equaled ten before, it makes you think that ten might very well equal twenty. Which makes you wonder what other math Richards is fudging. Or dates.

Here’s Denise shopping in Malibu in March. Images thanks to WENN.