Photo: Instagram/@bevinaprince
Bevin Prince, one of the stars of the 2000s-era hit show One Tree Hill, is suffering a personal loss after her husband, William Friend, tragically died over the weekend at just 33 years old.
Friend was near Masonboro Island in North Carolina on Sunday (July 3) when he was struck by lightning, per NBC News. Local law enforcement responded to the scene and took Friend to an ambulance, where they tried to resuscitate him for 20 minutes before he was ultimately pronounced dead.
Prince starred in several episodes of the hit teen drama from 2003 to 2012. She and Friend, who was the CEO of digital media company Bisnow, got married in 2016 and launched a local fitness business together. In an anniversary post on Instagram in May 2021, Prince said of her husband that she is "so lucky to know you, to love you, and to learn with you. We have come so far and I am so proud of the life we have built."
TMZ reports a statement from Friend's company Bisnow reads, in part, "Friends and former colleagues marveled at Friend's ability and willingness to take on new challenges — whether or not he was ready. He demonstrated that tenacity at an early age."
Prince's close friend, actor Odette Annable, shared a tribute to Friend in a lengthy, heartfelt post on Instagram after the "unimaginable" tragedy of having to "say goodbye to another friend."
"Will, it feels surreal writing this. Mostly because it feels like you were just getting started," she wrote. "The life and love that you gave to my best friend made it feel okay that we were thousands of miles apart."
She continued, "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 like I'd never seen from you living in North Carolina with Bevin.
Annable added that Prince "lost the love of her life" and that the world "lost a really really good one."