View this post on Instagram[1]
On Nov. 18's episode of Dancing With the Stars [3], James Van Der Beek [4] opened up about a sad loss in his family. The actor revealed his wife Kimberly, who was expecting their sixth child, suffered a miscarriage. The couple announced their pregnancy [5] last month.
"My wife Kimberly went through every expectant parent's worst nightmare. We lost the baby," James said. "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. . . Kimberly, from her hospital bed, said to me, 'I am not done watching you dance.' Kimberly, I love you. When words fail, you sing. When there are no words, you dance. Kimberly, I'm dancing for you, I'm dancing for us."
He elaborated further on Instagram [6], and said, "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.
Kimberly alluded to the heartbreaking loss on Instagram [7] that same day, when she wrote, "It was a TOUGH weekend. Extra thankful right now to have help with my kids. Keeping these cuties happy as can be while I replenish at home."