(CNN) Bethenny Frankel has broken her silence about the death of her late boyfriend, Dennis Shields.
Shields, 51, was found dead on Friday.
Frankel took to Instagram on Monday after Shields' funeral to post a photo of him alongside her dog with the caption, "Rest in peace my sweet babies who gave me endless unconditional love. #nowandforever."
Shields, who lived in Trump Tower, was in his apartment along with a housekeeper when police were called, according to a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation.
Paramedics were unsuccessful in their attempts to revive him, according to the source.
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Bethenny Frankel is speaking out about the shocking death of her on-off boyfriend Dennis Shields.
The Real Housewives of New York City star posted an Instagram of Shields cuddling with her beloved dog Cookie, who died in October at the age of 17.
“Rest In Peace my sweet babies who gave me endless unconditional love. #nowandforever,” she captioned the intimate photo.
The Bravo star was photographed looking emotional at Shields’ funeral on Long Island, New York, on Monday.
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Shields was found dead in his Trump Tower apartment on Friday. He was 51. The NYPD is investigating his death as a possible overdose.
“We are all heartbroken. Dennis was, and will always be, the love of my life,” his wife Jill Shields said in a statement to PEOPLE. “His spirit lives on in our children. Please respect our family’s privacy at this time.”
According to the New York Post, the banker asked his assistant to give him Narcan, an emergency medication intended to reverse the effects of a narcotic overdose, but he lost consciousness before the medication could take effect.
Despite their complicated relationship status, Bethenny Frankel and Dennis Shields considered marriage in recent months — and he even gave her an engagement ring.
A friend of the Real Housewives of New York City star tells PEOPLE that the couple were discussing the possibility of marriage this past spring.
“He proposed to her with a ring in April. She wasn’t wearing the ring,” the friend says. “There were some hurdles to overcome before she could make that level of a commitment. She loved him. He’s her family and her best friend and her confidante. Her partner and her business partner.”
Still, Frankel, 47, kept the news a secret. “Very few people knew about the proposal,” the friend says. “He’s proposed before — but never with a ring.”
Her answer?
“She didn’t say no,” the friend says. “She would have loved to have married him, but there were some hurdles to overcome first.”
Josiah Kamau/BuzzFoto via Getty
In the wake of his death, “Bethenny is devastated,” the friend says.
Shields was found dead in his Trump Tower apartment on Friday. He was 51. The NYPD is investigating his death as a possible overdose. According to the New York Post, the banker asked his assistant to give him Narcan, an emergency medication intended to reverse the effects of a narcotic overdose, but he lost consciousness before the medication could take effect.
Perhaps complicating his future with Frankel, Shields was still legally married to his estranged wife Jill, who referred to him as “the love of my life” in a statement to PEOPLE after his death.
Frankel and Shields began dating in 2016 — three years after the Skinnygirl founder filed for divorce from ex-husband Jason Hoppy, with whom she shares 8-year-old daughter Bryn. But they first met about 28 years ago when he dated (and later married) Jill, one of her high school friends. They began seeing each other several months after he separated from his wife.
But they dated on and off for years, and on last week’s episode of RHONY, Frankel suggested they were taking another break, though they always remained close friends through their ups and downs.
“I didn’t say this to Dennis, but in my own mind I said 90 days. I’m not saying a word to Dennis for 90 days,” Frankel told friend Dorinda Medley. “It’s a really hard thing to realize that someone you love doesn’t mean they’re the right person. I wish he was.”
On Monday, Frankel posted an Instagram of Shields cuddling with her beloved dog Cookie, who died in October at the age of 17. “Rest In Peace my sweet babies who gave me endless unconditional love. #nowandforever,” she captioned the intimate photo. And she was photographed looking heartbroken while attending Shields’ funeral on Long Island.
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Frankel’s friend tells PEOPLE it’s unclear whether she and Shields were officially together leading up to his death. Still, their feelings were undeniable.
“She talked to him this past week. He loved her and she loved him,” the friend says. “She would have loved to have married him, but they were still working through their issues. She wanted to make it work.”
Bethenny Frankel is mourning ex-boyfriend Dennis Shields after he died on Friday due to an apparent overdose.
The “Real Housewives of New York” star posted a heartbreaking photo on Monday morning of the late businessman lying in bed with her beloved dog Cookie, who died in October 2017.
“Rest In Peace my sweet babies who gave me endless unconditional love,” she wrote alongside the photo, adding the hashtag “#nowandforever.”
A post shared by Bethenny Frankel (@bethennyfrankel) on Aug 13, 2018 at 10:03am PDT
Shields, 51, who made a handful of appearances on the long-running Bravo reality show, was found unconscious and unresponsive in his Trump Tower apartment in New York City. EMS later pronounced him dead at the scene.
Shields’ family and Frankel reportedly attended his funeral in Long Island on Monday.
“We are all heartbroken,” Jill Shields, Dennis’ ex-wife and a former high school classmate of Frankel, told People. “Dennis was, and will always be, the love of my life. His spirit lives on in our children. Please respect our family’s privacy at this time.”
Alessio Botticelli via Getty Images Dennis Shields and Bethenny Frankel pictured together in New York City in 2016.
Frankel had been friends with Shields for nearly three decades, but they only started dating in 2016 after her contentious split from now ex-husband Jason Hoppy, with whom she shares 8-year-old daughter Brynn.
Frankel and Shields had been described as an on-again-off-again couple and were reportedly not romantically involved at the time of his death. He, however, had nothing but glowing things to say about the businesswoman in his final interview on the “Listen Up Show With Mitchell Chadrow” podcast.
“She’s great. She’s a great mother. She’s a great person. She’s really, really smart. She is terrific in every way,” Shields said of Frankel.
Bravo via Getty Images The cast of "The Real Housewives of New York City."
Frankel’s “Real Housewives of New York” co-stars have mostly remained silent about the tragedy, except for departing castmember Carole Radziwill and Sonja Morgan.
“I just heard the sad news about Dennis. He was a good man,” the What Remains author wrote on Twitter after news of Shields’ death broke. “My condolences to all his family and friends. So tragic.”
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 (@CaroleRadziwill) August 10, 2018
