A live-streamed tribute to the late influential songwriter John Prine is set to take place today. Dubbed Picture Show, the event will see a star-studded roster of artists like Sturgill Simpson, Kacey Musgraves, Jason Isbell, and more celebrate the legacy of the beloved country icon.

In a new interview on CBS This Morning, Fiona Whelan Prine — widow of John— has opened up about the final hours of Prine’s life, how she is coping with the aftermath, and what to expect from Picture Show.

John and Fiona met in Dublin in 1988, and were joined at the hip ever since. Throughout their marriage, the couple carried each other through all the trials and tribulations of life, including John Prine’s two battles with cancer.

Prine passed away in April due to the complications of coronavirus. The couple contracted the virus in March, following a European tour. Fiona detailed that John fell gravely ill with symptoms shortly after she recovered from the virus.

“And the day, in fact, I came out of quarantine, John started displaying serious symptoms,” she said. “I took him to the ER — I had to leave him at the door. That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I have never not been with him through an illness.”

Fiona Prine recalled the experience of John’s hospital stay, revealing that she was only allowed to visit her husband once — the day that his condition took a turn for the worse.

Fiona received a call from a doctor on April 6th — the day of their wedding anniversary— urging her to head to the hospital immediately. “I honestly wanted to throw up,” she revealed.

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She spent 17 hours by Prine’s side whilst he was unconscious. Despite being unable to respond, Fiona said she “talked to him.”

“I got to tell him everything I had ever wanted to tell him,” she revealed.

While she was able to say goodbye, the couple’s three sons were not. “They’re sad,” Whelan said. “John was proud of them. If they never got off the sofa, John would be proud of them.”

Whelan revealed that emotionally she was in “uncharted territory,” though she expressed hope that she was going to recover from the loss.

“I have the resilience muscle which is a little exhausted right now. But I’m gonna be okay. John left me a lot — a lot of memories, music, cars,” she said.

Working on the Prine livestreamed tribute has helped her cope with the loss. “It’s been difficult at times, but it’s also been a great distraction.”

The John Prine live stream special, Picture Show: A Tribute Celebrating John Prine streams Friday, June 11th at 7:30 p.m. ET via Prine’s YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch.

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