The Real Housewives of New York City left viewers in tears after the Season 11 premiere aired on March 6, and that’s because Bethenny Frankel, 48, was really candid about how the death of her ex-boyfriend, Dennis Shields, rocked her world in August 2018. And she wasn’t the only one greatly affected by his death — her 8-year-old daughter, Bryn, also had a hard time dealing with Dennis’ passing. In a scene that was filmed just three weeks after Dennis was found dead in his Trump Tower apartment of a suspected overdose, Bethenny said she learned the terrible news from his daughter, Tyler, who called her “hysterically crying.”
“I started screaming into the phone,” Bethenny told viewers. “I’ve never in my life experienced this moment, this feeling, this hysteria.” Obviously, Dennis’ passing was very hard for Bethenny to deal with, but seeing her daughter upset over the news as well was excruciatingly difficult. She actually described it as “another sucker punch.” Bethenny then told her friends how Brynn asked if Dennis still had a phone number because she wanted to text him. So she did — “Hi Dennis, how are you doing today? We miss you. Kiss. I and Biggie Smalls miss you as well. From, Bryn,” Bethenny read Bryn’s text out loud to her friends, before saying, “She [also] said, ‘I miss you. I wish you were here today’. It’s so sad.”
Bethenny explained that she tried making sense of Dennis’ death until it all became too much for her. “You know, someone told me he fell the day before on a boat and then, did he take something ‘cause he was in pain? But it doesn’t matter. He’s dead. Like, it doesn’t matter.” She continued, “[Then, I’d think] let’s figure out what happened. Let me put the pieces of the puzzle together. He wrote me 15 texts. He wanted to marry me. I had a ring on my finger. He’s dead.” But alas, she felt, “It doesn’t matter. He’s gone. There’s nothing to say.”
In other RHONY news, Luann was seen coming to terms with the fact that she had relapsed and gone back to rehab, while Ramona sought swimming lessons after last year’s ship incident. And Sonja was adjusting to life in her new apartment, complete with towels and duct tape for curtains. But as far as Dorinda was concerned, she said she made positive changes in her life since Season 10 ended, however, she had yet to face Luann and deal with their issues and the idea of running into the cabaret singer gave her a lot of anxiety. Maybe next week?
New episodes of The Real Housewives of New York City air Wednesdays at 9pm on Bravo!