Bethenny Frankelis celebrating the bright life of late boyfriend Dennis Shields on what would have been his 53rd birthday.
On Thursday, Feb. 6, theReal Housewives of New York Cityalumna posted a touchingtributeto Instagram that honored Shields, whodied in August 2018at age 51 of a suspected overdose.
“Happy Birthday Dennis…. Thinking of you today and every day,” Frankel, 49, began the post, which included rare photos of the couple spending time together.
“It’s been tough recently because the world lost another legend and so many innocent lives,” she wrote, noting therecent helicopter crashthat claimed the life of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others.
“You are gone but never will be forgotten. You are missed. You are constantly quoted. You are one of a kind. You are eating multiple Nestle crunch bars, Sprites, and JG Mellon double cheese cheeseburgers in heaven, and now you have an amazing basketball player to watch and bet on up there,” Frankel said.
The Skinnygirl mogul continued, “You would be proud of my decisions and the evolution of my career and my life. You would be so excited about all of the announcements coming soon. You were my biggest cheerleader and were positive about a future for me that I never imagined possible.”
Bethenny Frankel/Instagram
Bethenny Frankel and Dennis Shields.Bethenny Frankel/Instagram
Frankel shared that her 9-year-olddaughter Bryn, whom she shares withex Jason Hoppy, also misses him — and mentions the businessman frequently when talking about their dogs.
“Bryn is still ‘sweet as sugar’ as you always refer to her and she misses your blindfolded food tasting contests and leaving trails of chocolate chips. You were right about @biggysmallz being the greatest dogs. Bryn tells everyone: ‘Dennis has had more than 30 dogs and says he has never met sweeter dogs,’ ” Frankel said.
Dennis Shields.Bethenny Frankel/Instagram
Frankel, who is now datingreal estate developer and film producer Paul Bernon, went on to say that Shields would approve of hercurrent relationship.
“We are in good hands with Paul, who you would like and respect and vice versa. He looks out for us and is very caring. You always said I would find someone who would take care of me,” she continued.
Dennis Shields with Bethenny Frankel’s daughter, Bryn.Bethenny Frankel/Instagram
The former Bravo star concluded, “We miss you. Happy Birthday! I know they have peanut butter chocolate cake and Hemingway in heaven. Everyone misses you and you are still the center of attention-just how you secretly like it. Xoxo P.S. I hope @cookiedabooboo is giving you great snuggles at the ? bridge. ‘The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.’ ‘Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.’ -Ernest Hemingway.”
On Aug. 10, 2018, Shields was found dead of a suspected overdose in his Trump Tower apartment.
“We are all heartbroken. Dennis was, and will always be, the love of my life,” his estranged 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.”
Frankel and Shields began dating in 2016 — three years after the reality star filed for divorce from Hoppy. Much of theiron-off relationshipwas documented onThe Real Housewives of New York.
Despite multiple breakups, Frankel and Shields remained close. In fact, in the spring before Shields’ death, hepopped the questionon April 25 while the couple was at dinner together.
Though he gave her a mega-carat rock,which she proudly wore, Frankel said the circumstances surrounding their impending nuptials were a little tricky. In fact, she said she never really gave Shields a clear yes.
“It’s funny because he said to me, ‘Did you say yes?’ And I said, ‘Well, I love you and I can’t believe you did this but we have to talk about some conditions and some terms and how things are going to change’ — issues I’ve had with partnership and consistency,”Frankel recalledonRHONY.
“It was all very complicated and it wasn’t what a natural engagement should be,” Frankel said. “So our engagement was on ice.”
Last August, Frankel posted a loving tribute on theone-year anniversary of his death.
“Dennis insisted we adopt biggy AND smallz for my daughter Peanut,” she wrote, referencing a nickname forBryn. “He simply couldn’t imagine separating them.”
Frankel said Shields was also the one to come up with their names.
“We racked our brains staying up late coming up with the perfect name for two dogs from the same litter with very different body types. Thing 1 & Thing 2 was an option but Peanut found it degrading. Lenny & Squiggy was a good one but I knew it would only appeal to the over 40 set. Then at 5am, Dennis was waiting for me to wake up and in his stronger than Tequila New Yawk accent said ‘BIGGY AND SMALLZ’ and two stars were born,” she wrote.
Frankel wrote that “he loved these dogs and the feelings were mutual.”
Frankel added, “I am a different personand in a different emotional place than I was a year ago, and the wounds have begun to heal but the scar will remain on my heart forever. RIP, August 10. #Unforgettable.”
source: people.com
