Grief-stricken Bethenny Frankel broke down in tears at the burial of her on-again-off-again boyfriend Dennis Shields on Monday.
The sobbing Real Housewives of New York star was consoled by a friend as she joined Sheild’s loved ones at a cemetary in Long Island.
She had earlier attended a service at a funeral home.
A helper was on hand with an umbrella to protect her from the rain as she left the service, and also while she stood at the graveyard.
Sobbing: Bethenny Frankel broke down in tears at the burial of her on-again-off-again boyfriend Dennis Shields on Monday
Sheilds’ daughter Kelsey and son Zachary were also among the friends and family who had gathered for the service.
Bethenny also posted an Instagram picture that showed Shields with her beloved dog Cookie, who died in October last year.
![She was earlier seen leaving a service at a funeral home](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/13/17/4F11812400000578-6055835-image-m-31_1534176517244.jpg)
She was earlier seen leaving a service at a funeral home
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/13/17/4F11812000000578-6055835-image-a-38_1534176720934.jpg)
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/13/17/4F11811400000578-6055835-image-m-40_1534176745983.jpg)
The reality star has been left devastated by Shield’s death
![Bethenny later shared a picture of Dennis and Cookie, her beloved dog who died in October last year. She praised both for showing her 'endless unconditional love'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/13/18/4F127BB100000578-6055835-image-a-3_1534180568917.jpg)
Bethenny later shared a picture of Dennis and Cookie, her beloved dog who died in October last year. She praised both for showing her ‘endless unconditional love’
The caption read: ‘Rest In Peace my sweet babies who gave me endless unconditional love. #nowandforever’
It’s the first time she had publicly addressed the tragic death of 51-year-old Shields, whose body was found in his home in Trump Tower Friday after overdosing on oxycodone, an addictive opioid he was taking to treat back pain.
A source close to Bethenny had previously told E! News: ‘This is really bad. It’s dreadful. She’s known him for over 20 years. She’s heartbroken.’
![Bethenny looked emotional as she left, leaning on a friend for support](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/13/17/4F11811800000578-6055835-image-a-41_1534176769253.jpg)
Bethenny looked emotional as she left, leaning on a friend for support
![Shields' daughter Kelsey and son Zachary also attended the service](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/13/18/4F11BB1D00000578-6055835-image-m-5_1534181247684.jpg)
Shields’ daughter Kelsey and son Zachary also attended the service
![Bethenny is seen here arriving for the service, which was held in Long Island](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/13/16/4F11180C00000578-6055835-image-a-18_1534173372903.jpg)
Bethenny is seen here arriving for the service, which was held in Long Island
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.
At some stage before 9am, Shields lost consciousness and the maid called 911. He was pronounced dead by EMTs shortly afterwards.
![Shields (pictured with Bethenny Frankel in 2016) was found dead on Friday morning](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/10/21/4EFF567B00000578-6048425-Dennis_Shields_pictured_with_Bethenny_Frankel_in_2016_was_found_-m-130_1533931246378.jpg)
Shields (pictured with Bethenny Frankel in 2016) was found dead on Friday morning
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)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/10/21/4EFF82A800000578-6048425-Frankel_was_unaware_of_the_news_on_Friday_morning_and_was_adding-m-134_1533932152550.jpg)
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.
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](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/10/19/4EFF686100000578-6048425-Shields_had_been_trying_to_sell_his_two_bedroom_apartment_in_Tru-a-116_1533925033115.jpg)
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'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/11/17/4EFF85A600000578-6049391-Jill_Schwartzberg_Shields_the_businessman_s_estranged_wife_said_-a-46_1534003349030.jpg)
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](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/10/19/4EFF85A200000578-6048425-image-a-118_1533926346410.jpg)
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](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/10/21/4EFFD3AD00000578-6048425-image-m-136_1533932175738.jpg)
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](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/10/20/4EFFBCD400000578-6048425-image-a-127_1533929128045.jpg)
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](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/11/17/4F00049F00000578-6049391-Carole_Radziwill_Bethenny_s_one_time_best_friend_was_among_the_f-a-47_1534003349068.jpg)
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.
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.