Becca Bowen knew she wanted her real-life ex-boyfriend to appear in the music video for her song about the night he cheated on her.
"I can't believe I went there with this music video," Bowen laughs to HotGossipNewz. "But, uh, I guess I did."
She did, in fact. Because in the final shot of her latest music video, "Son of a Gun," Bowen can be seen in South Carolina, on a boat with none other than her ex.
"I called my ex-boyfriend and asked if he wanted to do this," the season 5 winner of the Outdoor Channel's hit competitive reality show For Love and Likes recalled. "And he said, 'Yes, let's go ahead and do it.'" He told me I may reveal him at the very end."
The demise of Bowen's romantic relationship is now depicted in the new music video for "Son of a Gun," and while the music video does somewhat follow the true story of the day Bowen discovered her then-boyfriend at one of her concerts with another girl, there are some differences in how things play out on screen.
"We went ahead and did the music video in a pub instead where I am singing my song rather than singing the national anthem like I really did that night," Bowen says of the video, which was shot at Nashville's Live Oak venue. Jonah Prill, a country music musician and influencer, ended up playing the major part of the cheating ex.
"He just has the country guy look and everything," Bowen says of casting the viral sensation in the hot new song video. "I happened to call out to him, and he agreed. It was impossible for me to believe. 'You realise you're going to be the bad guy and the cheater, right?' I said. I literally threw water in his face.
Bowen did, in fact, unleash some pent-up rage on Prill during the making of the song video, which also includes viral country line dancer Don Spellman. But she also got to retaliate against her real-life ex-boyfriend.
"When we were doing one of the takes where I throw water in Jonah's face while we were actually filming it, I turned and threw it in my ex's face instead," Bowen chuckles of one of the sequences from Heather Carpenter/Artisan Imagery's music video. "The entire crew began cheering and laughing. It was the most amusing thing."
And, indeed, Bowen's ex appeared not just at the end of the song video, but also in the pub scene. "I wanted him to be hidden so no one knew who he was, but he's in there," Bowen explains. "I thought it would be cool for fans to be able to find my ex when the video came out."
Those same viewers may remark in the final scene of "Son of a Gun" that the two appear to have officially put the difficult times behind them.
"There are no hard feelings anymore because so much time has passed since what happened between us," says Bowen, who spent last year releasing uplifting songs like "Who I Am," "Glitter," and "How It All Went Down." "Now we're just really good friends." It's just an agreement that we won't be in a relationship. It's now really cheerful and enjoyable." She takes a breather. "Because time has passed, a lot of healing has occurred."
And, to be honest, they are enjoying the recent attention.
"This song has completely changed my career," Bowen says about "Son of a Gun." "I never expected such a positive response. Everyone in my hometown recognises him, so it's been amusing to go through all of this with him again. Something wonderful arose from something that I believed would only bring me down."
So, is there any way they could reconcile?
"Everybody wants us to get back together," Bowen jokes. "Everyone wants to hear this fairy tale story. So, who knows? You never know what's going to happen, do you? "I believe that when you make such wonderful friends, you never know what can happen in the future."
