Real Housewives of New York City star, Bethenny Frankel‘s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Dennis Shields, 51, was found dead in his Trump Tower apartment on Friday, August 10, as reported by The New York Post. Shields, a New York native, allegedly died of a suspected overdose. — As this story develops, here’s five fast facts about Dennis Shields.
1. Here’s what police told us. — NYPD released the following statement to HollywoodLife.com: “Today [August 10] at 9:19 A.M. police responded to a 911 call of an unconscious and unresponsive 51-yr-old male. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Identification is pending following family notification.” The report claims Shields had allegedly asked his assistant to administer Narcan (a drug to reverse the effects of opioids) around, believing he was overdosing on prescription pills, (sources). Another report allegedly it was oxycodone Shields overdosed on. However, the autopsy is still pending.
2. Shields’ relationship with Frankel was an apparent “complicated” one. — The on-again, off-again pair, who met nearly 30 years ago, began dating around 2016. Later in May 2018, the Bravo star got candid about her relationship with him. “I’ve been with someone on and off for years,” she told Steve Harvey. “It’s like a partnership where if we’re not being teammates and it’s not working and one man is down, then the other man is down. We’re trying to really kind of be good partners and be good teammates and I think relationships oddly are — and this sounds cold — but a little bit like business. If both people aren’t happy about it but slightly uncomfortable and giving up something or giving in [to] something, it doesn’t work. So both partners have to say, ‘All right, I’m in it for this.’ And I think we might be at that point, believe it or not,” she added. “I haven’t said that to anyone yet.”
3. Shields was a New York banker. — Despite his reported background in public relationships, Shields climbed up the corporate ladder in the banking world. Shields was the CEO of LawCash since it launched in 2000. “He was a driving force in the creation of the American Legal Finance Association (ALFA). A nationwide association of litigation financing and lawsuit funding companies, ALFA aims to set the highest possible standards for the litigation financing industry,” according to the company’s website. He also was the Founder and Chairman of YieldStreet, one of the leading crowdfunding companies in the US. Shields was too the Founder and Director of Esquire Bank, a full service, federally-chartered bank.
4. He was married before he began dating with Frankel. — Back in 1990, Shields married Jill Schwartzberg when he was just 23-years-old; she was 21 at the time. They wed at the New York City Plaza, with Rabbi Charles D. Lippman officiating the ceremony. The nuptials were later covered in the weddings section of the New York Times. Shields separated from Schwartzberg years later. And, Frankel actually went to high school with Shields’ ex-wife.
5. Shields’ family is quite successful. — Dennis’ mother, Gail Shields, is a lawyer, and his father, Dr. Lawrence Shields, is a neurologist. Dennis, himself, graduated from New York University, where he got a master’s degree in public relations.