By her side until the end. Bethenny Frankel revealed her on-off boyfriend Dennis Shields attended The Real Housewives of New York City reunion, which taped a month before his August death.
“Thank you. It puts a lot in perspective,” Frankel, 47, replied, to a fan who tweeted that they “admire” how she’s coping. “He was with me at the reunion & the years prior. He was a genius who could talk about the show minutiae all day. He was my greatest supporter. #sweetassugar #toughasnails.”
Us Weekly confirmed on August 10 that Shields was found dead of an apparent prescription drug overdose at his apartment in Trump Tower. A source told Us at the time that the 51-year-old was “the nicest guy in that building.” As previously reported, Shields’ cause of death will remain unknown because an autopsy was not performed “due to a religious objection,” according to the chief medical examiner.
While Shields was not shown during the three-part reunion, Frankel, who knew the late businessman for more than 20 years, credited him for helping her costar Luann de Lesseps with a pending lawsuit.
“I connected her with Dennis so we could help her with her legal situation because it got a little more complicated,” Frankel said during the August 29 reunion episode, referring to de Lesseps’ ex-husband Count Alex de Lesseps and their two kids, Victoria and Noel, suing her for a breach in the exes’ divorce deal. Bravo also dedicated part two of the reunion to Shields.
Sources confirmed to Us in August that Shields had proposed to the Skinnygirl creator before he died. Frankel admitted earlier this month that she has been having “trouble breathing” after his death.
“Doing anything in or by the water is life saving. Beach walks. ocean swims, wakeboarding, clamming, infrared sauna, jacuzzi & my swim really help,” she tweeted on September 3. “When you feel sad, you cry then you just have to force yourself to shift. It’s so hard but it works.”
