Bethenny Frankel is devastated following the death of her on-again, off-again boyfriend Dennis Shields following his overdose in his apartment at Trump Tower on the morning of Aug. 10. “This is really bad,” a source close to the RHONY star told E! News. “It’s dreadful. She’s known him for over 20 years. She’s heartbroken.” While his exact cause of death is officially unknown at this point, Dennis reportedly overdosed on Oxycodone, but not before he asked his assistant to buy and administer Narcan, a drug meant to counter the effects of opioids. However, he became unconscious before the Narcan kicked in, and was later pronounced dead on the scene by EMTs who arrived at the scene.
UPDATE: Dennis’ official cause of death has been listed as “undetermined” by the Chief Medical Examiner. “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,” medical examiner, Barbara Sampson, confirmed to HollywoodLife.
Since Dennis’ passing, two of Bethenny’s fellow housewives have expressed their condolences. “This is heartbreaking. I spoke to Bethenny yesterday to say I was going to Coast Rica, in case she wanted to come and get away. She’s been working so much,” Sonja Morgan told RadarOnline. “Dennis was important to her, and her daughter. Another tragedy in her life. I’m so sad for her.”
“I just heard the sad news about Dennis. He was a good man. My condolences to all his family and friends. So tragic,” Carole Radziwill tweeted. However, she initially dissed Bethenny before finding out about Dennis’ death. “Remember that PSA, It’s 10pm do you know where your children are?…Not sleeping,” she wrote in response to a fan’s tweet, that read, “Jesus, Bethenny needs like 12 Prozac, and a year long nap. She’s like a child who is well past their bedtime, and they start to cry hysterically and act irrationally. She acts like this is her world, and every one else is just living in it. Gross.”