James Van Der Beek and Kimberly Van Der Beek. Rick Kern/Getty Images for Hilarity for Charity
Kimberly Van Der Beek is there for husband James Van Der Beek following his cancer diagnosis.
“I love you baby 🤍,” Kimberly, 42, wrote in the comments section of the actor’s lengthy Instagram message regarding his health, which he shared Sunday, November 3.
James, 47, uploaded a slideshow of pensive photos set to the song “Autumn Breeze” by Richard LaForge. “‘It is cancer … ‘” his caption began. “Each year, approximately 2 billion people around the world receive this diagnosis. And I’m one of them.”
The Dawson’s Creek alum initially announced his battle with colorectal cancer in a statement to People on Sunday. “I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family,” he noted. “There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good.”
In his Instagram post, James explained that “there’s no playbook for how to announce these things” but noted that he wanted to “raise awareness and tell my story on my own terms.” His plans changed, however, and he was forced to share his diagnosis earlier than expected.
“I’ve been dealing with this privately until now, getting treatment and dialing in my overall health with greater focus than ever before. I’m in a good place and feeling strong. It’s been quite the initiation, and I’ll tell you more when I’m ready,” he continued. “Apologies to all the people in my life who I’d planned on telling myself. Nothing about this process has occurred on my preferred timeline … But we roll with it, taking each surprise as a signpost, pointing us toward a greater destiny than we would have discovered without divine intervention.”
His message concluded, “Please know that my family and I deeply appreciate all the love and support. More to come …”
James and Kimberly have been married since 2010 and share six children: Olivia, 13, Joshua, 12, Annabel, 10, Emilia, 7, Gwendolyn, 6, and Jeremiah, 2.
The couple previously weathered hard times together when Kimberly suffered two back-to-back pregnancy losses in 2019 and 2020. During an appearance on the “Bathroom Chronicles” podcast in March 2023, James got emotional while reflecting on the first of the two losses, which occurred while he was competing on season 28 of Dancing With the Stars.
“It was just so much pain, and it was so unexpected because everything was right, everything was [a] fairy-tale. Everything was coming together perfectly,” he recalled. “It progressed very quickly into being worried about Kim. We were both just crying and sobbing and there was a lot of blood. Way more blood than any delivery. … It was just a gut punch, an emotional gut punch.”
Kimberly’s miscarriages took place just seven months apart, both at 17 weeks. In October 2020, Kimberly said on an episode of “The Make Down” podcast interview that she was in “healing mode” and wasn’t ready to think about having another baby.
“Listen, the possibility is there, if my body agrees to it,” she continued. “I do not take birth control — big surprise! And, in fact, I will not take birth control. It really took me years to rebalance my system after birth control.”
One year later, the couple surprised fans with news of rainbow baby Jeremiah’s arrival. “After experiencing late-term #pregnancyloss twice in a row (both at 17+ weeks), we kept this one quiet. Truthfully, I was terrified when I found out,” James wrote via Instagram in November 2021, revealing that Kimberly “gave birth naturally on the ranch” in Texas.
“Each child brings their own energy, their own manifestation of consciousness, their own lessons. The ones we lost each gifted us with different pieces of the puzzle … leaving us that much more grateful for the ongoing master class we get to enjoy with this sweet, wise little one,” he continued. “Life is beautiful ❤️.”
