‘One Tree Hill’ actress Bevin Prince is speaking for the first time about the death of her husband William Friend, who was struck by lightning in July and killed. Friend, who was the CEO of a digital media company Bisnowwas 33.
“I’m just so proud. I’m so proud that I got to live with him,” Prince said in a new interview abc news which aired on December 9th. “He was by far one of the funniest people I’ve ever met in my life. He lit up every single room he entered. You never forgot when you met Will Friend.”
Prince told the outlet that on July 3, she and Friend went boating with friends and family near their home in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. She explained that they often did. They saw a storm coming but continued to monitor the situation. “We look up and we can see the storm in the distance,” she explained, adding that there were “about 60” boats out there and “no urgency” from anyone to get out of the water.
Prince ended up jumping on another boat with her father. Friend was struck by lightning. “It was instantaneous,” Prince told ABC News. “They rushed to him and at the time a police boat happened to be passing by, so they quickly took him to the police boat. And I understand they’ve put a lot of time and care into trying to revive him.”
“Right before it hit him, he lit a cigar and he looked at my dad and said, ‘If we get hit by lightning, Mike, I want to be here.’ And then it happened,” Prince added. “I really think it was his time.”
She explained: “He was 33 years old. It was July 3rd and I believe the exact time when the lightning struck was 3:13pm. So knowing that all the resources are there to possibly save him, I have to believe in something bigger.” I called him.”
Prince said she was so grateful for how people rallied around her, including her former One Tree Hill cast members Hilarie Burton and Sophia Bush. “It’s incredible and it’s unfortunate and fortunate that in this situation it takes a tragedy to see people rallying and supporting and loving you,” Prince said. “And I’m incredibly happy in this situation.”
Back in July, Bisnow COO and CFO Gregg Mayer said in a statement announcing Friend’s death, “What made Will special was his innate ability to inspire and motivate people — to raise people higher than.” they thought possible. That’s the culture he fostered at Bisnow and that will ultimately be his enduring legacy.”
Prince, who played Bevin Mirskey on One Tree Hill from 2003 to 2012 and had since worked as a SoulCycle teacher before opening her own spin studio in North Carolina, did not publicly respond to her husband’s death at the time. Your company Recess, on the other hand posted a statement on Instagram Shortly after the news broke, it said, “We really appreciate the love and support we’ve received from our Recess community. Will’s knowledge, guidance and support are the foundation upon which Recess is built.” The note continued, “Recess is the business that Will and his wife Bevin built and grew from their new home in North Carolina. There was nothing Will respected or valued more than the American Dream, entrepreneurship and women in business. We know he wanted this business to continue to thrive and lead to many more people being employed. Creating rewarding and meaningful jobs for others was the legacy Will wanted to leave behind. Thank you for helping us honor him in the way we are sure we would have wanted.”
Prince, 40, and Friend celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary in May, just months before his death. Prince announced on their fifth anniversary a sweet message to her husband: “We’ve come this far and I’m so proud of the life we’ve built. You make life delicious my love. I love you.”
Corresponding the national weather service, Lightning kills about 20 people in the US every year. Hundreds more are injured by lightning every year.