Bethenny Frankels ex tried to use her boyfriends death to call her an unfit mom
There’s not much that can make me feel sorry for Bethenny Frankel, but this is one of those things. You know how Bethenny took out a restraining order against her ex husband, Jason Hoppy, and has called him an abusive threatening stalker? Well Bethenny shares custody of their eight-year-old child, Bryn, with Jason. Bethenny’s on-off boyfriend, Dennis Shields, just passed away on Friday following an accidental opiate overdose. It’s absolutely sad and tragic and you would think that a normal person would take it easy on their ex, say they’re sorry for their loss and ask if there’s anything they can do. Only Jason used the death of Bethenny’s boyfriend as a tactic in their custody battle to question Bethenny’s fitness as a mother. (Apparently their court date was already scheduled.) What’s more is that Bethenny asked for an extra day with Bryn to talk to her about Dennis’s death and Jason said no! How vindictive is that? According to E! the judge encouraged them to work out custody outside of court but since that’s not going to happen they were granted another trial:
Jason’s attorney shared his condolences about the situation but said that “it was reported that he died of an oxycodone overdose. Our concern is, while the death is very sad, it raises concerns about Ms. Frankel’s parental judgment,” because Dennis cared for Bryn even when Bethenny wasn’t around. “What does it say about Ms. Frankel’s parenting that she would allow this person to care for her daughter? It’s downright dangerous parenting.”
Jason’s attorney brought up a recent episode of RHONY where Bethenny “appeared to be intoxicated, running around with no clothes on and saying she mixed Ambien and alcohol.” The attorney stated, “Our concern is whether Ms. Frankel might have some kind of substance abuse problem.” They requested drug testing for Bethenny.
The judge then cited the evaluation, which stated that Brynn “has two competent, loving parents.” The judge then accused Jason’s attorney of “throwing grenades across the table.”
Bethenny’s lawyer said none of their concerns about Dennis had ever been raised before. If Jason’s team were truly concerned about Dennis, they would have brought it up sooner. They claim that earlier this week, Bethenny had asked for an extra day with Bryn to help explain what happened to Dennis and comfort her and that Jason said no. The Bravo star’s attorney stated, “We have no reason to believe he is going to co-parent. He is going to be on the attack as he always was.”
Jason’s attorney denied that he said no to Bethenny having the extra day but instead wanted to be involved in explaining the situation to Bryn, stating, “He felt he had a right to be involved in the daughter dealing with it.”
At the end of the court appearance, the judge said he will schedule a hearing but if both sides can reach a settlement before then, the judge would encourage that.
I understand the drug test request for Bethenny given her storyline on RHONY, but the fact that Jason’s lawyer brought up her boyfriend’s death as somehow indicating she’s a bad mom is just despicable. And of course Jason wanted to be the one to explain it to Bryn because he can’t let Bethenny have even this one thing. He’s despicable and although I believed her side before I have much more sympathy for her. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get along with an ex, that’s a situation where you see their perspective, but Jason is trying to use the death of Bethenny’s boyfriend to his advantage. That speaks volumes about him.
Bethenny with Dennis Shields in 2016.
photos credit: Backgrid and WENN
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