Actress Bevin Prince: remembering her husband's fateful sailing accident

In July 2022, actress Bevin Prince ('One Tree Hill') unexpectedly lost her husband. William Friend was out sailing when he was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm. The shock took his life in an instant.

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram

After months of silence and mourning, even on social media where she'd always been very active, Bevin Prince spoke about the event for the first time. On the podcast '1on1 with Jon Evans', she explained how she feels since the shocking accident took her husband away.

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram

"It's a living nightmare. It's an absolute nightmare," the actress said. "It was like a day we had done a million times. The storm was far away, but suddenly everything changed. There is no normality after what happened, no instruction book to deal with it."

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram

The couple was very happy until death separated them. "It happened on July 3, at 3:13 pm," Bevin Prince recalls. "Will was 33 years old. It was an instant but I understand now that the situation was much bigger than me."

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram

To cope with the pain, Prince says that "for the moment, I take it day by day. Sometimes I don't feel well, but I remind myself that I have two options: to continue on this planet or not to do so, and the latter is not an alternative for me."

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram

William Friend, Bevin's husband, died on July 3, 2022, after being struck by lightning. WECT6 News first reported the news and it quickly went viral.

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram

The local news channel recounted how William Friend was struck by lightning while sailing off the coast of Wilmington, North Carolina.

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram

The 33-year-old businessman was caught in a storm in open water. Then, a fatal lightning strike ended his life.

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram

As reported by WECT6 News, Wilmington Police Marine Unit recovered the boat and the body of William Friend from the water.

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram

Paramedics tried to resuscitate him for more than 20 minutes, but there was nothing they could do to save his life.

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram

Friend's death was notable because of the bizarre circumstances, but also because he was married to actress Bevin Prince, known for her role as Bevin Mirskey in the series 'One Tree Hill.'

Bevin Prince (right, next to Sophia Bush and Nick Stahl) also appeared in well-known series such as 'House MD' and 'Desperate Housewives.'

The young businessman, who had an indoor cycling business with Bevin Prince, had been married to the actress for more than six years.

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram

Odette Annable (pictured), also an actress and the best friend of Bevin Prince, commented on the passing of William Friend in the days after it happened.

"What a gift you gave to everyone who knew you to witness the passion that burned in your soul. The passion to help people, to build your business, to find happiness," she posted.

Photo: @odetteannable / Instagram

Odette Annable pointed to William Friend as Prince's "love of her life" and highlights how "the world lost a really really good one."

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram

The actress asked those who can afford it to collaborate with the two solidarity initiatives that William Friend was engaged in.

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram

On the one hand, there's a project to support women without resources who want to set up a business on their own.

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram

On the other hand, he created an initiative to raise funds to help the families of SEAL veterans.

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram

To this end, the family of the deceased created a GoFundMe campaign to raise $250,000 to carry out both projects. In just under 24 hours, the initiative exceeded $67,000.

Photo: GoFundMe

As she admitted months after the accident, Prince often thought about "how fortunate I was to experience the kind of love and support that many people will never know." The tragedy made her decide to "dedicate my life to service."

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram

Months after disaster struck, Prince announced: "I'm going to do everything I can to help the people in my community, those around me, from friends to those I work with and my family. That's all I can do right now."

Photo: @bevinaprince / Instagram