A New York City judge denied Jason Hoppy’s request for his ex-wife, Bethenny Frankel, to undergo drug and alcohol testing amid their custody battle over 8-year-old daughter Bryn, Radar Online reports.
“It is my job to see if there is a reasonable doubt, and so far I don’t see it,” Judge Michael Katz told the businessman, 48, during a hearing on Monday, October 15, according to the website. “She is allowed to occasionally go and drink without her daughter present. What exactly is your claim? That she goes out and occasionally has a drink? Because that’s not illegal.”
The judge accused Hoppy of “trying to exploit Ms. Frankel to embarrass her” by requesting that she submit to drug testing after her boyfriend, Dennis Shields, died in August from a suspected overdose.
Radar reports that Hoppy’s attorney, Robert Wallack, pointed out in court that he saw Frankel, 47, “drinking alcohol with friends” on The Real Housewives of New York City. In response, her attorney, Allan Mayefsky, argued, “There was no evidence that Bethenny knew anything of Mr. Shields’ drug issues. This is all speculation. She is on television. She is entertaining. There is nothing wrong with that.”
Frankel and Hoppy finalized their divorce in July 2016 after six years of marriage. She was granted a six-month restraining order against him after he was arrested in January 2017 for allegedly stalking and harassing her, which he vehemently denied.
Hoppy’s attorney, Wallack, claimed during an August 16 court hearing that Shields’ death “raises serious concerns about Ms. Frankel’s parental judgment” as the late banker “spent a great deal of time with Bryn.”
The Bravo personality is now dating film producer Paul Bernon.
