Bethenny Frankel mourns boyfriend’s death on 'RHONY' premiere

Nick Paschal
·Supervising Producer, Yahoo Entertainment

On the season premiere of The Real Housewives of New York City, viewers watched Bethenny Frankel grieve the loss of her late boyfriend, Dennis Shields.

“Dennis passed away three weeks ago in his apartment,” Frankel said. “Tyler, his daughter, called me hysterically crying and she said, ‘My dad died this morning,’ and I started screaming into the phone.”

Frankel has been open about her grieving process, even tweeting in October that she would accidentally send Shields text messages while coping with his passing.

On Wednesday’s episode, she told her friends that she and her daughter, Bryn, each texted Shields their final goodbyes: “Like, I just wrote him a letter which was like, ‘I love you, Dennis, and I always will. You’re the most loving, beautiful man in the whole world, and I’m sorry you’re in so much pain. Now you can really sleep.”

The reality star grew emotional with friends as she recalled her last moments with Shields, who died of an apparent drug overdose in August.

“You know, someone told me that he fell the day before on a boat and then did he take something ’cause he was in pain? But it doesn’t matter. He’s dead,” Frankel shared.

She also revealed that the pair were considering marriage. “He wrote me 50 texts,” Frankel said. “He wanted to marry me. I have a ring on my finger. He’s dead. It doesn’t matter. He’s gone.”

After the premiere, fans rallied behind the reality star on Twitter to show their support.

Frankel has had an undoubtedly difficult year, as she recently began a contentious custody battle with her ex-husband, Jason Hoppy. While there’s no shortage of drama on the star’s plate, she has resolved to live her life to the fullest.

“Time is healing the wounds a little more than I thought,” Frankel explained. “It’s going faster, and then I feel guilty, like, how could you be having fun when Dennis is dead? But I’m trying to do what he would want me to do.”

The Real Housewives of New York City airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Bravo.

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