"Dawson's Creek" actor James Van Der Beek announced Monday he and his wife, Kimberly, lost their sixth child last week to a miscarriage. Van Der Beek made the announcement before performing in the semifinals of "Dancing With The Stars."
"It's every expectant parent's worst nightmare. We lost the baby," Van Der Beek, 42, said in his pre-dance video, according to multiple reports. "The little soul we expected to welcome into our family took the 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 was the couple's fourth miscarriage. It's something Van Der Beek has been open about in the past.
Van Der Beek reportedly said he didn't think he would be dancing Monday night after the loss, but he said Kimberly told him from her hospital bed that she was not done watching him dance.
"Kimberly, I’m dancing for you, I’m dancing for us," Van Der Beek said.
Van Der Beek danced the Foxtrot with partner Emma Slater to "Take Me to Church" by Hozier. His routine ended with Van Der Beek on the floor, in Slater's arms, crying. He later thanked his wife for pushing him to keep dancing.
Van Der Beek and Slater scored a 27 out of 30, but by night's end, they were eliminated by a unanimous vote of the judges.
"I'm so sorry, James," an emotional judge Carrie Ann Inaba said.
Singer Ally Brooke, who was saved by the judges, offered to forfeit and give her spot in the finale to Van Der Beek.
"Can I give it to James, please? Please?" Brooke asked. Host Tom Bergeron said she couldn't.
"That's lovely of you to say that," he said.
Later in the evening, Van Der Beek posted a lengthy message on Instagram about the loss of their child who was due in April.
"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.
In June 2018, Van Der Beek wrote another long Instagram post, calling on changing the word miscarriage to something else.
"'Mis-carriage', in an insidious way, suggests fault for the mother - as if she dropped something, or failed to “carry.” From what I’ve learned, in all but the most obvious, extreme cases, it has nothing to do with anything the mother did or didn’t do. So let’s wipe all blame off the table before we even start."
