ForBethenny Frankel, watching the Oscar-nominated remake ofA Star Is Bornwas a triggering experience.
On Wednesday’sReal Housewives of New York City, the Skinnygirl mogul, 48, recalled how theBradley Cooper,Lady Gaga-led film reminded her of her ex fiancé Dennis Shields, who wasfound dead in his Trump Tower apartment on Aug. 10 from a suspected overdose.
“Last night I went to seeA Star Is Born,” Frankel told costarDorinda Medley, moments after arriving in Medley’s Berkshires home for theRHONYcast’s annual girls trip. “I cried, you don’t understand, at the end — I didn’t know it was about pill addiction.”
She especially struggled with the end of the movie, which (spoiler alert) saw Cooper’s character, Jackson Maine, die due to suicide after a relapse. To make matters worse, Frankel was in Boston with her new boyfriend,real estate developer and film producer Paul Bernon.
“Going to Boston and seeingA Star Is Borncould be one of the most stupid things I’ve ever done in my life,” she added.
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Medley, 54, understood and gave Frankel some advice.
“Remember what I said? You were never going to move on in a healthy relationship,” she reminded Frankel, a point her friend agreed with.
“This was his journey,” Medley added. “Period. Everything has a beginning, middle and end and it’s not for you to determine. You are now living your best life with your daughter. You can always call me. I have been through a similar thing, and I get it. It’s a lonely but growing thing.”
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Frankel has been open on this season ofRHONYabout the complicated emotions she’s felt since Shields’ death.
The two met nearly 20 years ago when he dated (and later married) Jill Schwartzberg, one of her high school friends. They did not stay in touch, but Frankel and Shields shared other mutual pals and began dating in 2016, several months after he separated from Schwartzberg (and three years after she filed for divorce fromex-husband Jason Hoppy).
He eventually proposed to Frankel last April with a mega-carat rock, whichshe proudly wore. And though he was close with her 8-year-old daughter, Bryn, Frankel kept their engagement private and never really gave Shields a clear yes, telling him that things were on “ice” until some “conditions” had been met and “changes” made.
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On the Saturday before Shields’ death, Frankel finally confessed: “I have to exit this dynamic,” she revealed on a recent episode.
“He had such a powerful force in my life and my daughter loved it, that it was like this whole thing that was hard to extricate myself from,” Frankel said.
After Shields was found dead that next Friday, Frankel said began to feel culpable. “There was a lot in my mind about him dying right after that. I could not get off the ride. I feel guilty that the only way I got off the ride is that he’s dead,” she said, wiping back tears. “I hope I didn’t have anything to do with him dying.”
“Dennis told me if we didn’t work out, he was never going to be in a relationship again. He was going to be alone for the rest of his life,” she told audiences. “It was a tremendous pressure, and it kept me in. I don’t know what happened that night, and I will always have to live with that for whatever that means.”
Paul Bernon and Bethenny Frankel.Bethenny Frankel/Instagram
As sad as the loss has been, Frankel has found love again.
Meanwhile, the cause of Shields’ death remains a mystery. The New York City Medical Examiner’s Office announced in August that an autopsywas not performedon his body due to a “religious objection.” Thus, his cause of death has been ruled “undetermined.”
The Real Housewives of New York Cityairs Wednesdays (9 p.m. ET) on Bravo.
source: people.com
