Advertisement 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 Shields' loved ones at a cemetery in Long Island. The 47-year-old had earlier attended a service at a funeral home. Bethenny Frankel broke down in tears at the burial of her on-again-off-again boyfriend Dennis Shields on Monday A friend tried to console the sobbing star as she wiped away tears at the cemetery Bethenny, who wore a black dress and heels, looked distraught A helper was on hand with an umbrella to protect her from the rain at the graveyard She wore a black dress with heels and 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. 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 looked shaken as she left the cemetery following the burial 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 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' She was earlier seen leaving a service at a funeral home The reality star has been left devastated by Shield's death Bethenny looked emotional as she left, leaning on a friend for support Shields' daughter Kelsey and son Zachary also attended the service 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 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) 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 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 '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 Shields was the CEO of LawCash, a Brooklyn-based firm which bankrolls lawsuits against New York City. 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. 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. Jill Schwartzberg Shields, the businessman's estranged wife, said she was 'heartbroken' by the news as she called Dennis the 'love of her life' '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. 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. 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 '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. 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. Advertisement '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.'<doc-sep>A source close to Frankel told E! News she is distraught over his death. "This is really bad. It's dreadful. She's known him for over 20 years," the source explained Friday. "She's heartbroken." Not too long ago, Shields was singing Frankel's praises publicly. "She's great. She's a great mother," Shields said in a recent episode of the business podcast Listen Up Show With Mitchell Chadrow. "She is terrific in every way. But we do break up a lot." Shields' estranged wife, Jill Schwartzberg Shields, also issued a statement to E! News late last week. "Dennis' family is devastated by this terrible news. He was a loving father and friend," Schwartzberg Shields said. "We ask that the media respect our privacy during this time of loss." She later paid tribute to the man she called "the love of my life" on Instagram. "I will miss you every day. Forever your legacy will live on in our children and our future grandchildren. Your intelligence, humor and of course your good looks will forever be engrained in our family! Even though we did not live together, you still remained my best friend and my husband. Not many people were able to grasp our situation, but it worked for us. We spoke every day. I will miss that! I love you my dear husband. I am hoping up in heaven you are running around playing basketball and tennis without any back pain," she said Saturday. "See you again in forty years." Carole Radziwill, Frankel's frenemy and departing Real Housewives of New York City co-star, was among the first to express her condolences. "I just heard the sad news about Dennis. He was a good man," she tweeted Friday. "My condolences to all his family and friends. So tragic."<doc-sep>Bethenny Frankel is mourning the death of her on-off boyfriend Dennis Shields. The "Real Housewives of New York City" star took to Instagram on Monday to share a touching tribute to Shields, who died last Friday at age 51. “Rest In Peace my sweet babies who gave me endless unconditional love. #nowandforever,” Frankel, 47, captioned a photo of the banker resting alongside her late dog, Cookie, who died in October 2017. Shields, whom Frankel met nearly 30 years ago, was found dead of a suspected drug overdose in his Trump Tower apartment in New York City on Friday morning, People magazine reports. Bethenny Frankel and Dennis Shields met nearly 30 years ago when Shields began dating (and later married) Frankel's high school friend Jill Schwartzberg. Alessio Botticelli / GC Images The magazine also reported that Frankel attended Shields’ Long Island funeral on Monday. The close friends dated on an on-again, off-again basis since 2016, the same year Frankel finalized her divorce from ex-husband Jason Hoppy, with whom she shares her 8-year-old daughter, Bryn. Their relationship was featured on several episodes of "RHONY." The pair's romance began a few months after Shields separated from his wife of 26 years, Jill Shields (née Schwartzberg). In a statement to People on Friday, Jill Shields called her late husband the "love of my life." “We are all heartbroken. 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,” she said.<doc-sep>
Three days after his death, Bethenny Frankel attended her on-off boyfriend Dennis Shields‘ funeral. On Monday, the Real Housewives of New York City star was spotted arriving at the service on Long Island, New York. Shields was found dead of a suspected overdose in his Trump Tower apartment on Friday. He was 51. Bethenny Frankel arrives to the funeral for Dennis Shields Credit: Mega Agency Frankel, 47, first met the New York City-based banker almost 30 years ago when he dated (and later married) one of her high school friends, Jill. Though she didn’t stay in touch with her classmate, Frankel and Shields shared other mutual pals and began dating in 2016, several months after he separated from his wife. Jill addressed Shields’ death in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE on Friday. “We are all heartbroken. 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,” she said. Celebrity Sightings in New York City - June 14, 2016 Dennis Shields and Bethenny Frankel | Credit: Alessio Botticelli/GC Frankel had always been candid about the complexities of their relationship, admitting that it wasn’t easy to define. “I’ve been with someone on and off for years,” she said during an interview in May. “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.’ ” Last week, a source told PEOPLE that the coupling was “unconventional and not always exclusive.” “Bethenny loved him a great deal, but it was an unusual relationship,” said the source. “They would be together and then not. Sometimes these traditional relationships aren’t the best thing for everybody.” The source added that Shields was a “steadying rock” for Frankel. “He was very mild-mannered and she is like a force of nature,” the source said. “But she needed that in him.” RELATED VIDEO: Bethenny Frankel Says She ‘Never Knows Exactly’ Where Relationship Stands with Dennis Shields A source previously told PEOPLE that Shields was an important part of Frankel’s daughter Bryn’s life, too. (She shares the 8-year-old with ex-husband Jason Hoppy.) “Bethenny and her daughter Bryn love Dennis and his family,” the source said. “They have been a support system during her negative divorce and a positive influence in Bryn’s life.”