The Truth About Dove Cameron And Cameron Boyce's Relationship

Actor Dove Cameron first rose to fame on Disney Channel, starring in shows like "Liv and Maddie" and original features like "Descendants" before taking on grittier roles, such as Ruby Hale in 2017's Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D," per IMDb. As of 2021, Cameron has also made a foray into pop music because, as the actor-singer explained to BBC, "I function best when I have about 10 plates spinning at once."

Growing up in the spotlight may have inflated many a child actor's ego, but Cameron has somehow managed to keep her bubbly, friendly personality intact. In a 2017 interview with Galore, she touched on common misconceptions: "I think a lot of people think I'm either unintelligent because I'm a very happy person and I have a lot of energy or that it's a fake happiness like fake energy." She understands the intensity of her emotions, but simply loves connecting with people. Cameron went on to explain to Galore, "I don't think there's anyone that I've met that I haven't created a bit of a deep relationship with ... It's a really lovely thing to create a relationship with people [who] might not anticipate that closeness." 

Given her charming nature, it's no surprise she forged a special bond with several of her "Descendants" co-stars, including Cameron Boyce, who tragically died from a seizure in 2019. 

Even before Dove Cameron ever worked with Cameron Boyce on the set of "Descendants," she had a sense they were destined to be besties. The multi-hyphenate star told Seventeen in 2019 that she had been impressed with his work on the Disney Channel series "Jessie" and was looking forward to meeting him in person. "I had always thought, 'damn, what a charismatic, bright and brilliant kid,'" she expressed. After their initial meeting (at which point she hugged him), Cameron recalled that she told Boyce, "'This is going to sound so weird, but we're about to do this new thing together, and I'm going to hug you, because I can promise you now, we are going to be friends.'"

Sounds like it was never an option not to be friends! For his part, Boyce warmed to Cameron almost instantly. She explained, "From that first day onward, Cameron was my friend and he treated me, like he treated everyone else, like they were the most important person in the room. 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," per Seventeen. She added, "I couldn't begin to quantify the wisdom and generosity that this kid had." The depth of their bond, therefore, makes the loss of Boyce even more devastating.

Like anyone else in her shoes, Dove Cameron struggled with losing her friend Cameron Boyce. Thankfully, "Descendants" stars have found comfort in one another in the wake of losing one of their own. "Me, Boo Boo, Cam and Sofia [Carson] still have our core 4 group chat active and open," Cameron explained to Seventeen, speaking of the franchise's lead stars. "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?' ... I think something like this horrible loss makes you realize how important you are to each other."

Though Cameron has been vocal about her struggles with anxiety and social media, even taking a "social detox" in 2019, she recognized the importance of paying tribute to Boyce on her platforms. "I felt really weird about posting about Cameron on social media because it felt really emotional and private and intimate and social media is the opposite of that," she shared in a pared-down Instagram video in July 2019. "Cameron was one of my favorite people alive in the world," she continued. "Over the last six years, since he was only 14, Cameron talked me down from countless ledges, talked me through eating disorders, helped me out of a dark relationship and through endless breakdowns." 

As she put it, he was her "earth angel," and a bright light that was taken much too soon.

Dove Cameron continues to speak highly of Cameron Boyce. On how close their bond was on set and in real life, Cameron told Daily Pop that working alongside Boyce was "like working with your family." She continued, "He was from some place else ... he was truly like a cosmic happening." Only a month following his death, "Descendants 3" premiered on Disney Channel and many were curious how his co-stars were coping. While Cameron promoted the film in an interview with On Demand Entertainment, she tearfully noted, "He's such a dreamy soul that everything that he does is quite magnetic."

Finding inspiration from Boyce, Cameron got a tattoo — number 11, in fact — that holds a special meaning. She shared the experience of getting tattooed during a "24 Hours With" segment for Vogue. Capturing her own anti-gun views as well as a special nod to Boyce's organization with the "mission to end gun violence," Wielding Peace, Cameron settled on a flower coming out of a pistol on the side of her arm. 

Boyce aimed to create an artistic project, featuring individuals holding objects like they would a gun. "He did it with a bouquet of flowers actually," Cameron recalled with Vogue. She continued, "I think that that's really beautiful and I've been trying to think of a tattoo to get for him since he passed and I just felt that this one was really appropriate."