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One Tree Hill star Bevin Prince has opened up about the death of her husband who was killed after being struck by lightning.
Bevin's husband William Friend had been out on a boat with family and friends in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina on 3 July this year when he was struck by lightning and killed - he was just 33.
Bevin, 40, opened up about her devastating loss in an interview with Good Morning America.
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The actor told the news outlet that there had been 'no urgency' to get off the water when the storm came in and that there were ‘60-some boats out there’ that day.
Bevin had been on another nearby boat when the tragic incident unfolded - but said just before her husband had died, he had ‘lit a cigar and he looked at my father and he said, 'If we get struck by lightning, Mike, this is where I wanna be.' And then it happened."
She said: "It was instant. They rushed over to him and, at the time, a police boat happened to be coming by, so they moved him over to the police boat quickly. And from what I've heard, you know, spent a lot of time and care trying to resuscitate him."
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Despite his young age, Bevin said she truly believes it was ‘really his time’, which has helped her cope with the grief.
"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 couple tied the knot in 2016 and were set to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary and Will's 34th birthday the month he was killed.
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Bevin regularly shared glimpses into their lives on her Instagram page - in one photo she calls Will ‘one of a kind’ and that she ‘loves him more than words’.
Remembering her husband, she said: “He was one of the the funniest people I've ever met in my life, by far. He lit up every single room he came into. You never forgot when you met Will Friend.”
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
Claire Reid