Denise Richards is one scary Pussycat Doll

DENISE RICHARDS was in Las Vegas Friday night prancing around with those saucy "Pussycat Dolls" -- and ET's JANN CARL was with her for a revealing new interview, airing on tonight's ET! She said "I was always a people pleaser and I just finally got to the point in my life after having my daughters and going through a really ugly divorce ... I've just gotten to the point where life is so short and I just want to be happy." Following her new mantra, Denise was happy to play MC for the sizzling dance troupe as they celebrated the Pussycat Dolls Lounge's one-year anniversary at Caesars Palace, with resident record-spinner DJ AM providing the musical sound at PURE nightclub. "It's fantasy, it's costumes, it's fun. I'm excited," she said before the show. The gorgeous actress has been under more than her fair share of the media glare this year, first due to her divorce proceedings with CHARLIE SHEEN, and most recently due to her reported romance with rocker RICHIE SAMBORA -- who split earlier this year from Denise's former friend HEATHER LOCKLEAR. Denise says that her new relationship was the "last thing I was looking for," adding, "it's true when they say things happen when you least expect it." She confesses that dealing with the rumors hasn't been easy, "The thing with Heather, that's been hard ... you know you can't help who you fall for and that friendship, unfortunately, was done and wasn't salvageable." She says, "People have gone on ... would you date your best friend ['s husband]? You know she wasn't my best friend. She was a close friend in the last couple of years -- I hadn't known her my whole life [like] people [are] portraying this." She finishes, "[It's] been tough having people think that I'm such a crappy friend -- because if we were friends I wouldn't be in this situation." On rumors that she and Richie got together before their respective marriages were kaput, Denise says, "I get why people have been hurt in this situation -- you know, it's not good but it is what it is." But she stresses that both her and Richie's former relationships were over before they got together: "We didn't meddle in marriages and anything like that." As for her marriage to Charlie, Denise originally filed for divorce on March 2, 2005, but the two reconciled for a short time later in the year. Last January, they decided to continue with divorce plans. Just last week, the court extended a restraining order Denise filed against Charlie back in April, which included numerous allegations against him. Charlie has called her claims a "heinous document of fiction," but for now, the actor must stay 300 yards away from Denise and their two daughters, SAM and LOLA, except during supervised visits with the children. Regarding the allegations made in court papers, Denise says, "Unfortunately the thing with Charlie and I -- that was a court document that became public. I didn't hand it to a tabloid and say, 'Here, print this.' And it's sad, and it's horrible that it's gotten to the point that it's gotten to." Denise says that she's just taking it one day at a time these days, and that "between getting a divorce and all the tabloid stuff and now my mom being ill, it's just too much -- so I'm just enjoying the moment, enjoying what's great in life." She did say that she was happy for BRAD PITT and ANGELINA JOLIE when they had their daughter SHILOH, but for a unique reason, "I was so thankful that Angelina had that baby... I'm like, 'Please have that baby so it takes [the focus] away from us!'" [ET]