Actress Bevin Prince has given an emotional first on-camera interview to Good Morning America about the death of her husband, who was fatally struck by lightning over the summer.
William Friend, the One Tree Hill alum's late husband, was killed in July after being struck by lightning while the two were boating with their family in North Carolina. He was 33.
"We look up and we can see the storm in a distance," she recalled on GMA. "But we've been there so many times, and there was no urgency for anyone to get off the water."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Friend was on another boat with Prince's father, and she revealed that "right before" his death, "he lit a cigar and he looked at my father and he said, 'If we get struck by lightning, Mike, this is where I want to be.' And then it happened. It was instant."
According to Prince, a nurse and a veteran were on a nearby boat and spent "a lot of time" trying to resuscitate her husband but were unable to do so. "I believe it was really his time," she said, adding that there was "a lot of divinity" in his death.
"He was 33 years old, it was July 3, and I believe the exact time that the lightning struck was 3:13 p.m.," she said. "So knowing that all the resources were there to potentially save him, I have to believe that something bigger beyond me was calling him."
The actress also remembered her husband as "one of the funniest people I've ever met," and she choked up as she said she's "so proud that I got to do life with him."
Friend served as CEO of the commercial real estate media company Bisnow Media, according to CNN. The National Lightning Safety Council said his death marked the 21st lightning fatality in North Carolina since 2006, and the first since 2020.
-
Can Trump put his tariffs on stronger legal footing?Today's Big Question Appeals court says 'emergency' tariffs are improper
-
Film reviews: The Roses, Splitsville, and TwinlessFeature A happy union devolves into domestic warfare, a couple's open marriage reaps chaos, and an unlikely friendship takes surprising turns
-
Thought-provoking podcasts you may have missed this summerThe Week Recommends Check out a true crime binger, a deep-dive into history and more
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
