'One Tree Hill' Alum Opens Up For the First Time About Husband's Tragic Death
Bevin Prince's husband, William Friend, was 33 when he passed away earlier this year.
Bevin Prince, the One Tree Hill alum who lost her husband, William Friend, earlier this year, is opening up about the details of his tragic death for the first time.
Friend—who the actress-turned-fitness instructor married in 2016—died at age 33 earlier this year after being fatally struck by lightning during a family boat outing over the 4th of July weekend. In a recent appearance on the "1 on 1 with Jon Evans" podcast, Prince, 40, recalled the horrifying day, which she said was started "like any other day that we've done a million times."
"The storm was far away, we're on the boat, everything's fine," she recalled, per People. "And then in an instant... everything has changed. There's no normal, and there's no playbook for it."
Prince wasn't on the boat when her husband was struck, but luckily, a police boat happened to be passing by at the time of the incident, and another boat next to them also had a nurse on board.
Her husband was moved to the police boat to receive immediate aid before being transported to a hospital, Prince explained, while remembering, "We had two hours that we were unsure of what is fate was, and that was awful."
"In my mind, there was absolutely nothing that could have been done," Prince also said at one point in the episode, which aired on Friday, Dec. 2. "I have to accept that this is larger than me and my understanding at this time."
Prince also revealed that Friend had a chilling conversation with her dad, Mike, right before the incident. "He looked at my father ... he lit a cigar and he said, 'Mike, well if we get struck by lightning, this is a good place to be. This is where I want to be.' And then it happened," Prince stated. "That, to me, really allows me the ability to process a little bit more that this is so much bigger than me, that it wasn't coincidence and also, nothing could have been done."
Also in Friday's podcast episode, Prince noted that the support of her longtime friend and OTH co-star Hilarie Burton-Morgan helped her get through the devastating experience after the White Collar alum drove overnight from upstate New York to North Carolina to be with Prince after hearing the news.
"Hilarie got in her car when she found out my husband had passed and drove straight to my house overnight," Prince—best known for her role as the lovable Bevin Mirskey on the CW drama series—explained. "She showed up on my door, and she was like, 'Okay, what can I do?'"
"And she sat with me, and she was just, once again, showing me what a special human she is. Her intention for being there was just to help in any way possible," she insisted. "It wasn't, 'Look at how good I am. Look at what I'm doing for you.' And I'm just eternally grateful."
She also acknowledged that their fellow OTH alum, Lee Norris, came to see her after the tragic news.
A celebration of life took place the following weekend, where Prince spoke about her late husband at the ceremony, an experience she called "difficult" but insisted she could feel her husband's presence "holding me up."
"I know that he can hear me, and I can feel him. There have been way too many things that have happened that are just divine, and I know he's there. It's not a question," Prince added.
Friend lived with Prince in Wilmington, North Carolina, the same location where Prince filmed OTH from 2003 to 2012. Prior to his death, Friend was the CEO of the digital media company Bisnow. Prince still resides in Wilmington, where she runs her cycling studio, Recess by Bevin Prince.
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