One Tree Hill Star Talks of 'Absolute Living Nightmare'

UPDATE Jul 8, 2022 9:05 AM CDT

One Tree Hill alum Bevin Prince has spoken out for the first time since her husband's death after being struck by lightning in July, saying what started "like any other day that we’d done a million times" turned into an "absolute living nightmare." In a Friday appearance on the "1 on 1 With Jon Evans" podcast, Prince set the scene: "The storm was far away, we’re on the boat, everything’s fine. And then in an instant, everything has changed." She said heroic efforts were made to save William Friend. "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." Page Six has more on the interview, in which she talked about dedicating herself to a life of service.

Jul 8, 2022 9:05 AM CDT

The husband of One Tree Hill star Bevin Prince has reportedly become the third person killed by a lightning strike in the US this year. William Friend, 33, was struck around 3:15pm Sunday while on a boat near North Carolina's Masonboro Island. Marine units from the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office and the Wilmington Police Department responded and deputies performed CPR as they took him to meet emergency medical services, WECT reports. It adds first responders then tried for 20 minutes to resuscitate Friend without success. "There's really no safe place on a boat," an official with boat towing service Sea Tow Wrightsville Beach tells the outlet, adding various boats required assistance during the storm.

"The unimaginable has happened," Prince's best friend, actress Odette Annable, wrote in a Wednesday Instagram post, encouraging donations to causes close to Friend's heart. Prince, who married Friend in 2016, "lost the love of her life and the world lost a really really good one," she added. Together, the couple launched fitness business Recess by Bevin Prince in 2019, per Page Six. Friend also served as CEO of digital media company Bisnow, transforming it "from a local events business into a multichannel data, events, news and intelligence platform for the multitrillion-dollar commercial real estate market," according to a company tribute. The British-born businessman was due to celebrate his 34th birthday in a few days' time. (More lightning strike stories.)