Taking it all in. Dove Cameron is having a hard time processing the death of her late Descendants costar Cameron Boyce.
“When I heard about Cameron, I had just woken up early in a London hotel room to the sound of my phone ringing off the hook,” Cameron, 23, told Seventeen magazine in an interview published on Wednesday, July 31. “I was nervous about why I could be getting so many texts and calls, so I only looked at my mother’s text. I knew she would be the gentlest, and the most concise, whatever it was.”
Cameron went on to detail the moment she learned about the death of Boyce on July 6. Her mother’s text “explained what had happened and I immediately phoned Booboo [Stewart], who had already called me twice. We just sobbed without speaking. If there was a word stronger than devastated that could describe the depth of pain that I was feeling, I would use it.”
The Disney Channel actress filmed alongside Boyce, Stewart and Sofia Carson since 2015 in three Descendants films. Descendants 3‘s red carpet premiere for July 22 was canceled after the Jessie star’s untimely death, but the flick is set to premiere on Disney Channel on August 2 .
The core group of three are leaning on each other for moral support in the weeks following the heartbreaking news. “Me, Booboo, Cam and Sofia [Carson] still have our core 4 group chat active and open, as we have for 5 years,” Cameron explained. “It’s hard when there are no adequate words to express the pain we are all feeling, but the usual text is ‘love you.’ Or ‘are you eating?’ Or ‘how are we all today?’ I think something like this horrible loss makes you realize how important you are all to each other. I am grateful for my chosen family at a time like this.”
On Tuesday, July 30, Us Weekly confirmed Boyce’s official cause of death. The 20-year-old died from sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. “After additional testing, the cause of death was determined to be sudden unexpected death in epilepsy,” the statement read. “The manner of death was certified as natural.”
Reflecting on their four-year friendship, Cameron only has fond memories of Boyce. “Cameron was my friend and he treated me, like he treated everyone else, like they were the most important person in the room,” the Washington native explained to Seventeen. “I loved him like a brother, and I learned from him every day, how to be joyful, how to be resilient, how to be patient, no matter the circumstances. I couldn’t begin to quantify the wisdom and generosity that this kid had. I still learn from him every day.”
