Bevin Prince lost her husband William Friend after he was hit by lightning
Bevin Prince lost her husband William Friend. He was struck by lightning...
Bevin Prince is still inconsolable by the passing of her tragically beloved William Friend.
The One Tree Hill alum addressed the issue for the first time five months after the 33-year-old was murdered by a catastrophic lightning strike, calling it “an absolute living nightmare.”
“It was like any other day that we’d done a million times,” Prince recalled on the 1 on 1 With Jon Evans podcast on Dec. 2. “The storm was far away, we’re on the boat, everything’s fine. And then in an instant, everything has changed. There’s no normal, and there’s no playbook for it.”
The actress claimed that three people who were aboard the boat next to the couple at the time of the accident—a nurse, a former service member, and a bounty hunter—”responded so quickly” to call for assistance. However, Friend died from his wounds despite their best attempts.
Prince continued, “In my mind, there was absolutely nothing that could have been done. And I have to accept that this is larger than me and my understanding at this time.”
Friend, who was married to Prince in 2016, passed away on July 3 from injuries sustained when she was struck by lightning while out on a boat close to Masonboro Island in North Carolina. The National Lightning Safety Council claims that following the incident, emergency medical services tried to revive him for 20 minutes. According to the nearby outlet WECT, he was subsequently declared dead in an ambulance
Her old OTH co-stars Hilarie Burton and Lee Norris, who she claimed dropped everything to be by her side after the news broke, were just two of the many pals Prince, 39, said have been tremendously supportive in the wake of the tragedy.
“Will was the most fiercely loyal person I’ve ever met in my life, and I learned so much from him by watching how he treats people, and how he shows up for them,” Prince recalled. “Every single person was there to show up for him and me, and so you’ve just got to get up.”
The Recess cycling studio founder said her grieving process is “still so day to day,” but she refuses to give up and is continually looking forward.
“Some days, it doesn’t feel OK, and I think the thing I remind myself is, I have two options. I can stay here on this planet, or I cannot, and that’s not an option for me,” she explained. “I knew when Will passed, I said, ‘OK, I was fortunate enough to experience the kind of love and support and partnership that I know so many people will never feel, so my life now a service. I’m going to do everything I can to serve the people in my community and the people that work with me and my friends and my family and I will continue to show up and do that.”
Prince added, “That’s all I know. That’s all I can do. That’s the only option.”
Catch all the Business News, Breaking News Event and Latest News Updates on The BOL News
Download The BOL News App to get the Daily News Update & Live News.