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Bethenny Frankel has not publicly commented on the sudden, tragic death of her on-off boyfriend, Dennis Shields. However, sources close to the Real Housewives of New York star say that she is absolutely heartbroken over the loss and she that she is having a hard time coping with the devastating news.
“This is really bad. It’s dreadful. She’s known him for over 20 years. She’s heartbroken,” a source told E! News.
According to the New York Times, it is believed that Shields, 51, collapsed inside his home at Trump Tower after asking his assistant to buy him Narcan after he took too much OxyContin. However, by the time Shields’ assistant returned, it was too late. Shields’ official cause of death has not yet been identified.
“The police said it appeared Mr. Shields had taken too much of the painkiller OxyContin, but a spokeswoman at the medical examiner’s office said a cause of death had not been determined. It remained unclear if the drug was prescribed to Mr. Shields or not. The police were called to Trump Tower at about 9:20 a.m., and Mr. Shields was pronounced dead just before 10:15 a.m., the authorities said,” the New York Times reported.
Real Housewives of New York fans got to peek into Frankel’s relationship with Shields on this season of the popular Bravo series.
“Bethenny loved him a great deal but it was an unusual relationship. They were on and off. It was unconventional and not always exclusive. They would be together and then not. Sometimes these traditional relationships aren’t the best thing for everybody,” a source told People Magazine.
The strong bond that Frankel and Shields had was evident during the trip that the RHONY ladies took to Columbia. Frankel was having a really tough time with Carole Radziwill, and she called Shields for support. He was able to talk to her and calm her down, which proves that the two had a very special connection.
“Dennis was a steadying rock for Bethenny. He was very mild-mannered and she is like a force of nature but she needed that in him,” the source also told People Magazine.
As previously reported by Heavy, Frankel and Shields weren’t officially dating, but had been on and off for a few months. Even when they weren’t in a romantic relationship, the two were very close.
“They were always in each other’s lives whether they are officially together or not. Even when they are not together, they don’t sit and define it; it’s just unconventional. They stopped declaring it one thing or another,” a source previously told People Magazine.