Bethenny Frankel on Her New Boyfriend Dennis Shields: We're a Perfect Match

Bethenny Frankel has a new man in her life, and she couldn't be happier.

While she didn't want to say too much about the new relationship, Frankel tells PEOPLE exclusively: "I am in a really happy place right now. I haven't been this happy in a really long time, and I'm continuing with my policy of not involving [others] in my relationships, because it certainly has served me wrong in the past."

The 45-year-old star of The Real Housewives of New York City is seeing Dennis Shields, a New York banker whom she first met through a mutual friend about 27 years ago.

"You know the definition of insanity is repeating the same behavior and expecting different results, so I'm not going to make the same mistake twice," Frankel adds. "So, if I'm happy in a relationship, I want to keep it private for as long as I can. It has not worked out with me well in the past to be gushing over being really happy – I'll leave that part to my cast mates."

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Frankel and Shields actually run in the same social circle.

"We have a lot of friends in common, and we've been friends for years," she admits. "We were in the same circle. We've both been married and separated, and I was friends with the woman he later married in high school and I've spoken to her about three times in last 25 years."

The best-selling author is currently going through a rough divorce with her ex Jason Hoppy, but it has yet to be finalized due to ongoing negotiations regarding their shared assets, including the downtown apartment he currently inhabits. The former couple share 6-year-old daughter Bryn.

Of Shields, she joked, "He's legally married and separated, which is exactly what I am so we're a perfect match. That's me being me, making a joke, owning it, like 'Yes would you like to open my hood, here it is...' "

The Real Housewives of New York City airs Wednesdays (9 p.m. ET) on Bravo.