Cause of Death Revealed: Bethenny Frankel's Interior Designer Brooke Gomez Died of 'Chronic Alcohol Use'
Nov. 23 2023, Published 10:00 a.m. ET
The cause of death of The Real Housewives of New York City star Bethenny Frankel’s interior designer has been revealed just days after the 49-year-old was found dead in her apartment over the weekend, RadarOnline.com can report.
In the latest development to come after Brooke Gomez was found dead in her $1.3 million New York City apartment on Sunday night, the NYC Medical Examiner’s Office revealed that Gomez died of “chronic alcohol use.”
Also startling are reports that Gomez’s body was found in an “advanced state of decomposition” when she was discovered on Sunday night.
Sources indicated that Frankel’s interior designer was dead for more than one week before her body was recovered and that Gomez’s beloved Brussels Griffon dog, Edie, survived alone for more than one week by feeding on the 49-year-old’s remains.
According to Daily Mail, Gomez’s Edie is “totally fine” and the superintendent of the apartment building where the interior designer passed away reportedly plans to adopt the pooch.
“The dog is totally fine,” one friend of the deceased said. “The super's wife is adopting her. Everyone thought to keep the dog's environment as normal as possible, that this was the right thing to do.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the RHONY star’s interior designer was found dead on Sunday night inside her $1.3 million Madison Avenue apartment in Manhattan.
Gomez had not been seen for over a week, and a concerned friend reportedly contacted the building’s superintendent and asked that he check on the interior designer’s apartment.
Gomez’s body was then found in an “advanced state of decomposition.”
Emergency services were contacted at approximately 10 PM on Sunday night, and police and an ambulance were immediately dispatched to the Madison Avenue apartment building.
A spokesperson for the New York Police Department confirmed that no foul play was suspected in Gomez’s death, and the Medical Examiner’s Office announced on Wednesday that the interior designer passed away from “chronic alcohol use.”
"We are greatly saddened by the sudden passing of our friend, Brooke Gomez, a light that shined brilliantly on everyone who knew her,” a friend posted to Gomez’s Instagram account on Wednesday.
Visit the all-new RADAR SPORTS for all the on and off-field activities of the biggest names in the games.
“A gathering of friends to celebrate her life is being planned,” the post continued. “Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.”
Gomez appeared in second season of the former RHONY star’s spin-off show, Bethenny Ever After, which premiered in 2013.
Gomez and her mother both oversaw the interior renovations of Frankel’s $5 million Tribeca home. The pair transformed the reality TV star’s 3,400-square-foot NYC penthouse into a lavish retreat.
The late interior designer also reportedly did work for Michael J. Fox, as well as actress Sigourney Weaver. Gomez’s work was featured in Architectural Digest and Traditional Home.
Frankel has not yet released a statement regarding her interior designer’s recent and sudden passing.