Dove Cameron Shares Heartbreaking Detail in Grieving ‘Descendants’ Co-Star Cameron Boyce

Dove Cameron has opened up about the painful process of saying goodbye to her Descendants co-star, Cameron Boyce. Boyce passed away earlier this month due to complications with epilepsy. He was just 20 years old, and like the rest of the world, Cameron was overcome with grief.

Cameron gave an interview in the latest issue of Seventeen Magazine on Wednesday. She talked about her burgeoning career and hopes for the future, but of course could not help but take a moment to discuss Boyce.

In the interview, Cameron recalled the tragic day of Boyce’s passing. She also relayed the family-like bond between herself and their castmates, including Nils Allen “Boo Boo” Stewart and Sofia Carson. She said that they were some of the first to call her.

“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,” the 23-year-old actress said. “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.”

After taking a moment to try and digest the news, Cameron said that she “immediately phoned Stewart, who had already called me twice.”

“We just sobbed without speaking,” she remembered. “If there was a word stronger than devastated that could describe the depth of pain that I was feeling, I would use it.”

These days, Cameron said that she still uses her “core 4 group chat,” which includes herself, Stewart, Carson and Boyce. The three cast mates are bound by a grief that is difficult to put into words, yet they search for them anyway.

“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?’” she revealed. “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.”

As for Boyce, Cameron said that she knew they would be great friends as soon as they met, and she knows that she will miss him for the rest of her life.

“Cameron was my friend and he treated me, like he treated everyone else, like they were the most important person in the room,” she said. “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.”

This week, Boyce’s official cause of death was reported. As expected, it was related to his epilepsy.