Aryl diphosphenes (Ar-P=P-Ar) possess features that may make them useful in photonic devices, including the possibility for photochemical E-Z isomerization. Development of good models guided by computations is hampered by poor correspondence between predicted and experimental UV/vis absorption spectra. An hypothesis that the phenyl twist angle (i.e. PPCC torsion) accounts for this discrepancy is explored, with positive findings. DFT and TDDFT (B3LYP) were applied to the phenyl-P=P-phenyl (Ph-P=P-Ph) model compound over a range of phenyl twist angles, and to the Ph-P=P-Ph cores of two crystallographically characterized diphosphenes: bis-(2,4,6-tBu 3 C 6 H 2 )-diphosphene (Mes*-P=P-Mes*) and bis-(2,6-Mes 2 C 6 H 3 )-diphosphene (Dmp-P=P-Dmp). A shallow PES is observed: the full range of phenyl twist angles is accessible for under 5 kcal/mol. The KohnSham orbitals (KS-MOs) exhibit stabilization and mixing of the two highest energy frontier orbitals -the n + and π localized primarily on the -P=P-unit. A simple, single-configuration model based upon this symmetry-breaking is shown to be consistent with the major features of the measured UV/ vis spectra of several diphosphenes. Detailed evaluation of singlet excitations, transition energies and oscillator strengths with TDDFT showed that the lowest energy transition (S 1 ← S 0 ) does not always correspond to the LUMO ← HOMO configuration. Coupling between the phenyl rings and central -P=P-destabilizes the π-π* dominated state. Hence, the S 1 is always n + -π* in nature, even with a π-type HOMO. This coupling of the ring and -P=P-π systems engenders complexity in the UV/vis absorption region, and may be the origin of the variety of photobehaviours observed in diphosphenes.