Ahead of the Fourth of July holiday weekend, longtime Hallmark star Barbara Niven got a heart-wrenching reminder of how fleeting and fragile life can be.
Reflecting on the importance of prioritizing relationships after hearing that a dear, old friend was “not doing well,” Niven, 71, recorded a video and posted it to social media on July 3, 2024. By the time she posted the video, she later shared, her friend had died.
In the caption of her social media post, the “Hannah Swensen Mysteries” actress, who plays Alison Sweeney‘s mom in the franchise, summed up the gist of her video by writing, “Life is short. If you are not doing what you love or being with the people that you love, please fix it. If there’s someone you need to speak to, do it now. We never know how much time we have, and you don’t want any regrets. ❤️”
After recording and sharing the video, Niven revealed to one fan in the comment section how fortunate she felt that she’d managed to see her ailing friend just two days before her death.
Barbara Niven Recorded Video After Learning Her Friend Was Unwell: ‘We Don’t Have Much Time’
In her video message, recorded as two of her grandkids happily played in the background, Niven began by sharing, “I’m just thinking about life and love and how short it is, really. We don’t have much time here to do all the things that we are meant to do. And we don’t want to waste time, and we don’t want to lose touch with people that we love.”
Niven, who played a TV host who received a terminal diagnosis in 2023’s “Ms. Christmas Comes to Town,” somberly shared, “I had a phone call today with an old friend who told me that another one of our dear friends, who was so important in a different chapter of my life, is not doing well.”
“So please say hello call people that you have not talked to for a while,” Niven implored her followers. “And, just, if there’s a problem, what difference does it make? Call them and say, ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘(it’s) silly that we’ve not been in touch’ and just fix it, please.”
“Because life is short and you don’t want to have any regrets,” she continued as her grandkids grew louder nearby. “I love you. Just passing that on. I’m very grateful for my friends and my family and my loved ones. And my grandchildren, who are reminding me … to be in the moment right now, learning about ice melting on a booboo they just got on the scooter!”
Barbara Niven Tells Fan She Managed to Reconnect With Friend Just Before Her Death
HallmarkBarbara Niven and Treat Williams in “Chesapeake Shores”
Niven’s post was flooded with compassionate comments, and many fans expressed that they hoped the actress would be able to reunite with her friend soon.
“I am so sorry to hear about your friend, it’s heartbreaking to get that news,” one person wrote to Niven on Facebook. “May you be able to call and talk and face time them to let them know you are there”
On July 4, Niven responded, “yes I was able to call and talk to her and she had made peace and was ready to pass. She had already gone through so much and her body just couldn’t take it anymore.”
“She was so concerned about how the people she loved would handle it when she died,” Niven continued, “and passed on the wisdom that life is indeed short and that we need to fix things while we can and have no regrets. She passed within a couple of days.”
Niven added, “I am so glad I had that phone call and I could make her laugh, calm her spirit and just let her know what a difference she made in my life and so many others. It hurts so much that I couldn’t actually see her and hold her one last time. But I know I will see her again someday. “
When another fan wrote on Facebook that she’d just learned about the death of a friend she’d known for 55 years, and how much she wished she’d kept in touch more often with her, Niven empathized.
“Yes the regret is what haunts us isn’t it,” she replied. “I should have seen my friend more often as well. She has passed away since I made this video, I miss her with all my heart. “
Niven’s post comes just over one year after another dear friend, her “Chesapeake Shores” co-star Treat Williams, died in a motorcycle accident on June 13, 2023. In a lengthy social media post, she wrote about what a “shock” his death was, writing, “It’s unbelievable that he is just suddenly gone.”
In June, she told 50 Plus Magazine, “You never know when your time is up. It’s an important practice to ask how people will remember us. An avid pilot, Treat would message me from the air. I would ask, ‘Did you touch God today?’ He’d respond with a picture of himself in the cockpit, looking over the skyline. He was a beloved acting partner and friend.”
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