James Van Der Beek has a big brood and loves spending time with all of his little ones — and documenting their cutest moments on social media.
The Dawson’s CreekAlum and Kimberly Van Der BeekIn 2010, they were married and welcomed Olivia. Their daughter became a big sibling when Joshua arrived two years later, followed by Annabel and Emilia.
The following is the October 2019 edition Dancing With the Stars contestant told Us WeeklyOnly how he and his producer discipline so many kids at once
“The nice thing with this many [kids] is that you see your parenting mistakes in real time,” the actor explained. “Anything you do to them, they immediately do to each other. You realize, ‘Oh wait, we’ve got to really dial in this conflict/resolution thing. [It’s about] just setting the right example.”
One week after the Connecticut native had told, Use exclusively that he and Kimberly were open to having another child and had “not closed up shop,” he announced that baby No. An ultrasound clip revealed that baby No. 6 was on the way.
“Hearing the heartbeat was something we never take for granted,” he said on DWTS at the time, referencing his wife’s previous three miscarriages.
He went on to write on Instagram: “@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. It doesn’t matter if you feel ashamed or give yourself time 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.”
James found out that his wife had miscarried and lost their baby a month later. “My wife Kimberly went through every expectant parent’s worst nightmare. We lost the baby,” he tearfully said as he shared the news during the November 18 episode of DWTS. “The little soul that we had expected to welcome into our family took a shortcut to whatever lies beyond. You will never know why these things happen. That’s what I’ve been telling my kids.”
In November 2021, Jeremiah was secretly born to the couple. “After experiencing late-term #pregnancyloss twice in a row (both at 17+ weeks), we kept this one quiet,” James explained via Instagram at the time. “Truthfully, I was terrified when I found out.”
Keep scrolling for an adorable look at James’ best moments with Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn and Jeremiah.
