Bethenny Frankel‘s on-off boyfriend Dennis Shields has died of a suspected overdose.
“We are all heartbroken. Dennis was, and will always be, the love of my life,” Shields’ 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.”
Shields was found dead in his Trump Tower apartment on Friday, according to the New York Post and TMZ. He was 51.
A New York Police Department spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE that a 51-year-old man was pronounced dead on the scene at Shields’ Trump Tower address. The NYPD could not share the individual’s name yet. “Preliminarily, we are investigating it as a possible overdose,” the spokesperson said.
“The medical examiner’s office is investigating the death of a man believed to be Dennis Shields, found at the Trump Tower. The investigation is ongoing, and we will release cause and manner of death when completed,” the medical examiner’s spokeswoman Aja Worthy-Davis told PEOPLE.
According to the Post, the New York 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. He was later pronounced dead.
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.
Much of their on-off relationship was documented on The Real Housewives of New York.
But despite multiple breakups, Frankel and Shields remained close.
“Bethenny and her daughter Bryn love Dennis and his family and they have been a support system during her negative divorce and a positive influence in Bryn’s life,” a source previously told PEOPLE.
“They had a 27-year friendship before they dated so they picked that up where they left off once they realized they didn’t work as a couple,” the source said. “Her daughter adores him and his family, and she comes first above all.”
The duo first met about 28 years ago when he dated (and later married) Jill, one of her high school friends. Though she did not stay in touch with her classmate (“We’ve spoken three times in 25 years,” she previously told PEOPLE), Frankel and Shields shared other mutual pals and began dating in 2016, several months after he separated from his wife.
Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel has been left devastated by the death of her boyfriend Dennis Shields, who passed away from an apparent opioid overdose.
Shields was found unresponsive in his apartment on the 42nd floor of Trump Tower around 9.30am on 9 August after overdosing on oxycodone, an addictive opioid he was taking to treat back pain.
According to the New York Times, the 51-year-old businessman collapsed after asking his assistant to buy Narcan - used to reverse opioid overdoses - because he was feeling unwell.
He was pronounced dead at around 10:15 a.m, police said.
Frankel, who dated Shields on an off from 2016, was said to be struggling to come to terms with his sudden death.
“This is really bad. It's dreadful,” an insider told E! News "She's known him for over 20 years. She's heartbroken."
"Bethenny loved him a great deal but it was an unusual relationship," another source told People Magazine. "They were on and off. It was unconventional and not always exclusive. They would be together and then not. Sometimes these traditional relationships aren't the best thing for everybody."
"Dennis was a steadying rock for Bethenny. He was very mild-mannered and she is like a force of nature but she needed that in him," the source added.
Ms Frankel had opened up about her relationship with the banker without naming him during a recent interview on the Steve Harvey Show.
“I’ve been with someone on and off for years,” she said. “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."
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“We’re trying to really kind of be good parents and good teammates and I think relationships oddly are — and this sounds cold — but a bit like business,” she added.
The death of Mr Shields, who was still recovering from a 2015 surgery, comes amid an opioid epidemic ravaging the US. In 2015, more than 33,000 Americans died as a result of an opioid overdose, including prescription opioids, heroin, and illicitly manufactured fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.
In April 2016, music legend Prince died of ‘fentanyl toxicity’ at his Minnesota estate after an accidental overdose of the painkiller, which is 50 times more powerful than heroin.
"What happened to Prince is happening to families across America," lawyers for Prince’s family said in a statement. "The family wishes, through its investigation, to shed light on this epidemic and how to better the fight to save lives. If Prince’s death helps save lives, then all was not lost.”
In July, The New York State Department of Health announced plans to allow doctors to consider medical marijuana as an alternative to opioids for patients with severe pain.
An American family who moved to Nicaragua for a year to live cheaply ended up blowing their $30,000 budget thanks to unexpected costs — but still spent less than life at home in the US
Bethenny Frankel is reportedly 'heartbroken' over the death of her on-again-of-again boyfriend Dennis Shields.
Sources close to the Real Housewife of New York City told E! News: 'This is really bad. It's dreadful. She's known him for over 20 years. She's heartbroken.'
The 51-year-old was found dead in his home in Trump Tower Friday after overdosing on oxycodone, an addictive opioid he was taking to treat back pain.
Shortly before 9am on Friday, Shields asked his maid to buy him Narcan from a pharmacy after taking multiple pills the night before, according to TMZ.
It is not known if the maid ever gave him the drug which reverses the effects of an opioid overdose by knocking out opioids from the opiate receptors in a person's brain.
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Bethenny Franke is reportedly 'heartbroken' at the loss of her on-again-of-again boyfriend who was found dead on Friday morning
Dennis Shields (pictured with Bethenny Frankel in 2016) was found dead on Friday morning
The medical examiner's car remained outside Trump Tower on Friday afternoon hours after the 51-year-old died reportedly after trying taking Narcan to reverse the effects of opioids
The medical examiner's truck is pictured leaving the building on Friday afternoon
At some stage before 9am, Shields lost consciousness and the maid called 911. He was pronounced dead by EMTs shortly afterwards.
Sources close to the businessman told DailyMail.com that his back had been 'acting up' recently and still hadn't recovered from a 2015 surgery.
They believe that he died of cardiac arrest because his heart 'could not cope' with the dosage of the powerful painkiller.
Frankel was unaware of the news on Friday morning and was adding to her Instagram story frequently until around noon (she is seen above in a selfie with her dog on Friday morning)
Frankel was at her home in Bridgehampton when he died. She appeared to be unaware of the tragedy and was uploading photographs and videos to her Instagram story until around noon.
She and Shields dated intermittently from 2016 onwards but always remained friends.
He appeared occasionally on the Bravo show in which she stars. The SkinnyGirl mogul has not commented on Shields' death.
Shields' estranged wife Jill, who he had four children with, told DailyMail.com she was 'devastated' by his death.
The pair were married for 26 years before separating in 2016, not long before he and Frankel became an item.
They had not yet finalized their divorce when he died.
'We are all heartbroken.
'Dennis was and always will be the love of my life. His spirit lives on in our children,' she said.
She added that he was a 'loving father and friend.'
The couple had four children together; daughters Tyler, 24, Darien, 20, and Kelsey, who is in college, and one son, Zachary, 23.
Shields had been trying to sell his two bedroom apartment in Trump Tower since last April. It is still listed for $4.75million. A photograph taken inside the apartment is shown
Shields was the CEO of LawCash, a Brooklyn-based firm which bankrolls lawsuits against New York City.
'We are all heartbroken. Dennis was and always will be the love of my life. His spirit lives on in our children.' Shields' estranged wife Jill
He was also the executive chairman of Esquire bank and the fin-tech start-up YieldStreet.
The businessman lived on the 42nd floor of the luxury building in a two bedroom apartment which he bought for $3million in 2012.
He put it on the market in April 2017 for $4.75million and it is still up for sale.
Jill Schwartzberg Shields, the businessman's estranged wife, said she was 'heartbroken' by the news as she called Dennis the 'love of her life'
The first of Frankel's housewives to speak out on Friday was Sonja Morgan.
'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,' she told RadarOnline.
Carole Radziwill, who spent the last season fighting with her one-time best friend Bethenny, later tweeted her condolences.
Without making reference to Bethenny, she said: 'I just heard the sad news about Dennis.
'He was a good man. My condolences to all his family and friends. So tragic.'.
'I know what it is like to lose someone so soon. It's unbearable,' castmate Jill Zarin, who is recently widowed, told The Post. 'There is nothing worse than sudden death. You can't prepare. There is no time to say goodbye.'
Frankel and Shields had been friends for years before they began dating.
She called one of his daughters one of her Bravo show's infamous reunion episodes to prove their relationship was wholesome after it was claimed that they began seeing each other before his separation.
Shields is pictured with his estranged wife, right, two of their four children. Zachary, 23, and Darien, 20. They are shown in 2014, two years before they separated
Shields and his ex were married for 26 years before their 2016 separation. Jill is pictured with their four children, L-R: College student Kelsey, Zachary, 23, Tyler, 24, and Darien, 20
Shields is pictured with Bethenny in an episode of the show which aired in April. It was filmed last fall in Southampton
Carole Radziwill, Bethenny's one time best friend, was among the first to address the tragedy on Friday
During that call, Shields' daughter spoke of the back surgery which was still causing him pain when he died.
WHAT IS OXYCODONE? Oxycodone is the most commonly-prescribed opioid in the US, alongside hydrocodone. They are both classified as 'semi-synthetic' because they (like heroin) are synthesized from opium. The effects of oxycodone on the brain are indistinguishable from the effects produced by heroin. The most commonly-used brand is OxyContin, made by Purdue Pharma, which has come to be the poster child of the opioid epidemic. Despite attempts to make the drug less addictive - by making it harder to crush - the drug is still commonly reported in overdoses.
In May, after parting ways, Frankel alluded to a reconciliation, telling Steve Harvey: 'I've been with someone on and off for years.
'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. I haven't said that to anyone yet.'
On Friday, Shields' colleagues at Esquire mourned him as a 'true visionary'.
'It is with deep sadness that we mourn the loss of our dear friend and business partner, Dennis Shields.
'Dennis' passion for his family, friends, and professional work were unmatched and there are no words to describe the loss we feel today.
'This tragic and emotional loss is devastating to all of us who knew Dennis and loved him dearly,' said Tony Coelho, Vice Chairman of the Board.
Andrew Sagliocca, President and Chief Executive Officer, added: ''Dennis was a great visionary in the financial and legal community and created a tremendous franchise in Esquire Bank.
'Our focus, thoughts, prayers, and love are with his family.'
Shields' death is the second in Trump Tower in six months. In April, an art dealer was killed by a fire in his 50th floor apartment.
