Distraught Charlie Sheen's Wife Leaves L.A. with Their Twins

Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller have already been living apart, and now Mueller seems to be putting even more distance between them.

Overwhelmed with her husband's legal issues and her own shaky sobriety, Mueller has taken the couple's twin sons, Max and Bob, and moved more than an hour from Los Angeles, PEOPLE has learned. "Brooke is close to having a nervous breakdown over all that is going on with Charlie, so she took the boys to live in a rental house away from Los Angeles," the source tells PEOPLE. "She is still taking outpatient help with her addiction problems and would have totally relapsed if she had not gotten out of town."

Another source close to the situation confirms Mueller has in fact gone into rehab once again.

Mueller is trying out at least two rental homes and will stay in either Laguna Beach or Santa Barbara for several weeks, depending on which house she prefers. "Brooke intends to continue her health regimen from whatever rental house she is in," the source tells PEOPLE. "She goes to AA meetings and always has someone with her to help her cope with the current stress. This will not change."

Although Mueller, 32, and Sheen, 44, occasionally text each other over issues with the twins, their recent phone conversations have ended up in shouting matches. "Brooke often throws down the phone when she speaks to Charlie," the source continues. "Brooke is totally stressed and needs to stay away from him and L.A. and start a new life."

The Two and a Half Men actor's legal woes stem from a fight with Mueller on Christmas Day in Aspen, Colo., which led to charges of second-degree assault, menacing and criminal mischief.