Bethenny Frankel’s Ex Seeks Full Custody As A Result Of Ex-Boyfriend’s Overdose Death
The recent overdose death of Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel’s sometimes boyfriend Dennis Shields has provided Frankel’s ex-husband, Jason Hoppy, with another complaint against his former wife to argue that he should have full custody of their daughter, Bryn.
Page Six says that Hoppy is now questioning Frankel’s “parental judgment” if she was involved with a drug addict who spent time alone with their child.
Robert Wallack, Hoppy’s lawyer, released a statement in reference to his client’s current concern with the custody arrangements.
“It was reported that he died of an Oxycodone overdose. Our concern is while his death is very sad this raises serious concerns about Ms. Frankel’s parental judgment,” Wallack said.
Frankel has also been pursuing full custody after she complained to the court that Hoppy was stalking her, and Shields’ death seems to have provided her ex with ammunition to fight back.
Wallack complained to Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Katz that Frankel frequently left Bryn in the care of Dennis Shields.
“Dennis Shields spent a great deal of time with Bryn and even cared for Bryn at times when Ms. Frankel wasn’t around. Considering Mr. Shields’ addiction what does that say about Ms. Frankel’s parenting that she would allow this person to care for her daughter? This doesn’t just constitute a lapse in judgment this was just downright dangerous parenting,” Wallack said.
Hoppy's lawyer expressed concern that Frankel had "some type of substance-abuse problems" referencing an episode of 'RHONY' where she "appeared to be intoxicated” https://t.co/fiBm28Mbgjhttps://t.co/fiBm28Mbgj
— Page Six (@PageSix) August 16, 2018
The Real Housewives star was visibly upset as Hoppy’s lawyer kept mentioning Dennis Shields, who has been dead for less than a week, but then he turned his accusations to Bethenny herself and her alleged habits on the hit Bravo show.
“There was a recent episode in which she appeared to be intoxicated. She was running around without clothes on and then she passed out and it was said she passed out from mixing Ambien with alcohol. Our concerns are whether Ms. Frankel may have some type of substance abuse problems so we would ask the court to order drug testing of Ms. Frankel to find out whether that’s an issue.”
Judge Katz asked why before the death of Shields, Hoppy was interested in continuing to share custody with Frankel. Still, the judge scheduled a hearing for March to make a decision about custody of Bryn Hoppy.
Dennis Shields died of a suspected opiate overdose last Friday after an injection of Narcan came too late. Frankel was devastated, and cast member Sonja Morgan said that Dennis was still so important to Bethenny and Bryn.
“Dennis is her rock. Dennis was important to her, and her daughter. Another tragedy in her life. I’m so sad for her. This saddens me to no end because it seems to be never-ending for her. My heart goes out to Dennis’ ex-wife and children,” Morgan said.
