James Van Der Beek continues to stand by his wife during difficult times. Last year, James and wife Kimberly excitedly announced they were expecting their sixth child. James made the announcement during his stint on Dancing With the Stars.
In mid-November 2019, James revealed heartbreaking news. Kimberly had experienced a miscarriage. Not only was it upsetting, but it was also a medically difficult situation for her. The family took time to heal. Both have spoken out about the experience of going through those highs and lows so publicly.
James and Kimberly hadn't shared whether they would continue trying for a sixth child. On Saturday, however, James revealed that Kimberly had been pregnant but had miscarried at 17 weeks. In an Instagram post, he explained they'd decided to keep it to themselves this time. He was compelled to speak out about their most recent heartbreak to remind other families who have gone through it that they are not alone.
James Van Der Beek and wife Kimberly have experienced another heart-wrenching loss. On Saturday, the actor took to Instagram to share that Kimberly had experienced a miscarriage. She was 17 weeks into her pregnancy.
"After suffering a brutal, very public miscarriage last November, we were overjoyed to learn we were pregnant," James explained.
"This time, we kept the news to ourselves. But last weekend, once again, 17 weeks in… the soul we'd been excited to welcome into the world had lessons for our family that did not include joining us in a living physical body."
"We rushed @vanderkimberly to the hospital by ambulance for another harrowing night of blood transfusions," James continued. He's previously spoken about the medical complications Kimberly has endured as a result of miscarrying.
"And as I stood by, grateful for the good people who navigated the maze of regulations to save her life – but helpless to do much for the woman I loved other than massage her feet and try to keep her warm (with my #DWTS robe, ironically) – something kept running through my head, again and again, which I now feel compelled to share: We've got to take better care of each other."
The loss made James reflect on the state of the world. "The world is in pain right now. There's denial, shock, numbness, anger – all the old patterns we cling to when deep trauma is unearthed. And there are no words to ease that pain … to make the process hurt less or to solve it quickly," he wrote.
"But the way out of it? Starts with an open, broken-hearted contemplation of this question: How can we take better care of each other? And to all the families who have gone through this… you are not alone. ."
James and Kimberly are parents to 9-year-old Olivia, 8-year-old Joshua, 6-year-old Annabel, 4-year-old Emilia, and 2-year-old Gwendolyn.
They opened up about their journey to baby No. 6 in mid-October 2019. James explained that he and Kimberly had been through miscarriages before. They brought a camera crew along as they found out about a potential pregnancy, wanting to share the experience with others regardless of the outcome.
"We really legitimately had no idea what we would get when we went to that appointment," James later admitted.
"We brought the camera crew, because we wanted to encourage people to be open about the experience." He noted that he was "really excited" about adding a sixth child to their brood.
He later elaborated on his and Kimberly's decision to go public despite the uncertainty. "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," he noted.
"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."
Sadly, in mid-November, James shared heartbreaking news. "My wife, Kimberly, and I went through every expecting parent's worst nightmare. We lost the baby," he said.
"The little soul that we had expected to welcome in 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."
In a series of Instagram stories, Kimberly shared her own experience. She revealed she almost died.
"Thank you to everyone for all the love. I don't even know how I'm gonna begin to respond to it all, so I think I'll just have to do it here," she began.
"We lost our baby — boy, by the way — and I almost lost my life, which is not a story that has been told. But at some point, I can dig into the details with you guys about what happened in the emergency room."
Days later, she elaborated. "Thank you so much for all the love. I'm so grateful for it. A lot of you have asked how I'm feeling physically. I'm healing. I'm definitely healing," she said.
"My biggest thing is my blood pressure. I just get very lightheaded very easily so I can't really get up and walk around for more than a couple minutes right now."
"A lot of blood transfusion action this weekend, so I'm just taking it super easy trying to restore and build my blood."
James offered another update about a month after the loss. "Still in repair. Discovering that healing happens at its own pace," he captioned a selfie of him and Kimberly.
"Not the pace you'd like, and definitely not the pace at which the world keeps on moving… But it happens. And there's beauty in allowing yourself to be exactly where you're at. (Plus, it's not like you really have a choice, anyway )."
Kimberly and James have been through a lot in recent months. They've been very brave to share their journey to help other families who go through the same. Though their road to a sixth child has been difficult, they clearly take refuge in all the joy and majestic moments their five kids bring.
