Bethenny Frankel is headed back in front of the cameras after grieving the loss of her on-off boyfriend Dennis Shields.
“It’s definitely been a different kind of summer. I am thinking about Dennis today,” the Real Housewives of New York City star, 47, told Extra at the launch of her Skinnygirl Jeans line at Macy’s Herald Square in New York City, which was filmed for the Bravo reality series. “He would have been so happy about this launch. He was the most excited when I was working and successful.”
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“He was a cheerleader, so he would have been counting the numbers and looking on the website and asking how many pairs of jeans and jean jackets we sold,” she continued. “He is definitely with me here tonight.”
Frankel’s RHONY co-stars Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan and newcomer Barbara Kavovit also attended the Wednesday launch.
Frankel and Shields, a businessman, started dating in 2016 when she finalized her divorce from ex-husband Jason Hoppy, with whom she shares 8-year-old daughter Bryn. Frankel and Shields, who had been close friends for almost three decades, continued their on-off relationship through the final months of his life; Us Weekly even reported that the banker proposed to the reality star in April.
Earlier this month, Frankel took to Twitter to share an update on how she was doing since the death of Shields in August.
“Doing anything in or by the water is life saving,” the 47-year-old tweeted. “Beach walks. ocean swims, wakeboarding, clamming, infrared sauna, jacuzzi & my swim really help. When you feel sad, you cry then you just have to force yourself to shift. It’s so hard but it works.”
Doing anything in or by the water is life saving. Beach walks. ocean swims, wakeboarding, clamming, infrared sauna, jacuzzi & my swim really help. When you feel sad, you cry then you just have to force yourself to shift. It’s so hard but it works.
— Bethenny Frankel (@Bethenny) September 2, 2018
Shields was found dead in his Trump Tower apartment on Aug. 10. He reportedly died after an overdose of prescription medication, although the New York City Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson told The Blast that Sheilds’ death was ruled “undetermined.” She said an autopsy was not conducted “due to a religious objection.” He was 51.
The Skinnygirl mogul attended Shields’ funeral and paid tribute to him on Instagram on Aug. 13. “Rest In Peace my sweet babies who gave me endless unconditional love,” she wrote alongside a picture of Shields with her dog, Cookie, who died in October 2017.
