Bethenny Frankel was reportedly asked not to attend the funeral of Dennis Shields last Monday.

According to a report from In Touch Weekly magazine, Shields’ estranged wife, Jill, respectfully requested the Real Housewives of New York City star stay away from the service because “she didn’t want it to be a media event.” However, because of her closeness to Shields, Frankel refused to stay away.

Frankel “couldn’t be persuaded to stay away,” a source explained, via an All About the Real Housewives report on August 20.

“Bethenny felt like Dennis knew her better than anyone else in her life,” the insider continued. “She had to be there.”

At the time of Shields’ death on August 10, he and Frankel were involved in an on-again, off-again relationship with one another. However, according to an episode of The Real Housewives of New York City that aired earlier this month, Frankel had vowed not to talk to him for 90 days during filming on Season 10. As fans may have seen, Frankel opened up about her back and forth romance with Shields during a conversation with Dorinda Medley.

Following the passing of Shields, Frankel shared a heartbreaking photo of the businessman and her late dog, Cookie, on her Instagram page.

In the days since sharing the photo above, Bethenny Frankel has returned to Instagram with another post, thanking her fans and followers for their support during this difficult time.

In May, Frankel opened up about her relationship with Dennis Shields during an interview with Steve Harvey, via People magazine. At the time, Frankel compared their romance to a business partnership.

“I’ve been with someone on and off for years,” she said. “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.'”

Prior to Shields, Frankel was married for under three years to Jason Hoppy, the father of her 8-year-old daughter Bryn.

To see more of Bethenny Frankel, tune into The Real Housewives of New York City Season 10 on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. on Bravo TV.