Bethenny Frankel Boyfriend’s Cause of Death Officially Ruled ‘Undetermined’

The untimely death of Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel’s boyfriend Dennis Shields has been ruled “undetermined.”

According to The Blast, New York City Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson spoke with the outlet and reveled the determination.

“An OCME autopsy was not performed in this case due to a religious objection, upheld by law in such instances where no criminality is suspected,” Sampson said.

The Blast goes on to note that Shields’ religious affiliation is unclear, but that “religious objection” would be consistent with some Jewish beliefs due to “postmortem examinations” being defined as a bodily disfigurement. Therefore, if he was Jewish, it’s possible his family chose not to have an autopsy done.

As has been reported, Shields was found dead in Trump Tower on Aug. 10. At the time his cause of death was suspected to be a drug overdose, but that is unconfirmed.

Frankel and Shields dated off-and-on for years, but always seemed to be very fond of each other even during their off times.

“She’s great. She’s a great mother. She’s a great person. She’s really, really smart,” Shields previously said of Frankel in an interview. “She is terrific in every way.”

“I’ve known Bethenny a very, very long time,” he added. “I met her when we were both still in college, and my ex-wife [Jill Shields] and her were friends in high school.

“We remained friends the whole time that I was married — nothing but friends. And then right after Jill and I got separated, Bethenny and I started dating and we’ve been together on and off now for I think it was almost four years,” Shields went on to say. “That’s what she told me … but we do break up a lot.”

A few weeks after his death, Frankel took to Twitter to pay tribute to her late partner and share with her fans how she has been doing.

“It’s hard to breathe & I appreciate you giving me the space & support to try to do so. It’s excruciating-sudden death is no closure & constant ?s & memories,” the reality star tweeted. “Our relationship is current so it’s painfully raw. Trying to stay healthy & move through it w tears & close friends.”

About three days after his death was announced, Shields’ body was laid to rest in a Long Island cemetery. Frankel was reportedly in attendance at his funeral.