US actor James Van Der Beek announces wife has suffered a miscarriage

By Keiran Southern, PA Los Angeles Correspondent

US actor James Van Der Beek has announced his wife has suffered a miscarriage.

The star of teen drama Dawson’s Creek said wife Kimberly lost the couple’s sixth child on the weekend.

Van Der Beek announced the news during an episode of Dancing With The Stars.

Wrecked. Devastated. In shock. That’s how we’re feeling right now after the soul we thought were going to welcome into our family in April… has taken a short cut to whatever lies beyond this life. We’ve been through this before, but never this late in the pregnancy, and never accompanied by such a scary, horrific threat to @vanderkimberly and her well-being. Grateful that she’s now recovering, but we’ve only just begun unpacking the layers of this one. Thank you to all of our friends and co-workers (and dance partners) who have shown up for us so beautifully during this time. As many of you have said, “There are no words…” and it’s true. Which is why in a time like this it’s enough to know that you’re there. Grieving AND counting our blessings today.

A post shared by James Van Der Beek (@vanderjames) on Nov 18, 2019 at 6:46pm PST

In a video message, the 42-year-old said: “My wife Kimberly and I went through every expecting parent’s worst nightmare. We lost the baby.

“The little soul that we had expected to welcome into our family took a shortcut to whatever lies beyond.

“You never know why these things happen, that’s what I’ve been telling my kids. All you know is that it brings you closer together, it breaks you open, it opens up your heart, it deepens your appreciation. It makes you more human.”

Van Der Beek admitted he did not expect to be taking part in Monday’s episode of Dancing With The Stars, but revealed Kimberly convinced him to dance.

He and his professional partner Emma Slater were awarded a score of 27/30 from the judges, though it was not enough to save them from being eliminated.

Thrilled beyond belief to announce that another little bundle of joy has picked us to be their family. We chose to have our first ultrasound on camera with our #DWTS crew capturing the result – something I NEVER thought we’d ever do… but @vanderkimberly and I have been through three of those first appointments to discover either no heartbeat, or no baby, and she wanted to share this moment. Miscarriage (a word that needs a replacement – nobody failed to “carry”, these things sometimes just happen) is something that people rarely talk about, and often go through in secret. But there needs to be zero shame around it, or around giving yourself the time and space to grieve. We decided to put ourselves out there – not knowing what we’d find – in an effort to chip away at any senseless stigma around this experience and to encourage people who might be going through it to open themselves up to love & support from friends and family when they need it most. Happily, for us – this time- we walked out with tears of joy. #AndThenIDancedAQuickStep. • Pic by @jilliangoulding

A post shared by James Van Der Beek (@vanderjames) on Oct 7, 2019 at 5:28pm PDT

The actor, who revealed he and Kimberly were expecting a new arrival last month, is also father to Olivia, nine, Joshua, seven, Annabel Leah, five, Emilia, three and one-year-old Gwendolyn.

Van Der Beek, who played  Dawson Leery in six seasons of Dawson’s Creek from 1998 to 2003, addressed the loss on Instagram.

He said he and Kimberly were “Wrecked. Devastated. In shock.”

He said: “That’s how we’re feeling right now after the soul we thought we were going to welcome into our family in April… has taken a short cut to whatever lies beyond this life.

“We’ve been through this before, but never this late in the pregnancy, and never accompanied by such a scary, horrific threat to @vanderkimberly and her well-being. Grateful that she’s now recovering, but we’ve only just begun unpacking the layers of this one.”

He thanked friends and co-workers for support, adding “Grieving AND counting our blessings today.”

Van Der Beek, whose film roles include Varsity Blues and The Rules Of Attraction, married Kimberly in 2010.

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