James Van Der Beek opened up about the harrowing night that his wife Kimberly suffered a miscarriage in 2019.
The 46-year-old actor became emotional as he recalled his spouse’s pregnancy loss at 17 ½ weeks while appearing on the Thursday episode of Kimberly’s podcast with co-host Peggy Rometo, “Bathroom Chronicles.” The “Dawson’s Creek” alum, who was competing on “Dancing With The Stars” at the time, said that the miscarriage occurred two nights before the show’s semi-finals.
Kimberly remembered that the family was watching TV when she told Van Der Beek that she felt “off.” She recalled getting into the shower where she suffered the miscarriage.
“It was just so much pain, and it was so unexpected because everything was right, everything was [a] fairytale. Everything was coming together perfectly,” Van Der Beek said.
James Van Der Beek became emotional as he recalled his wife Kimberly’s miscarriage in 2019. (Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Hulu)
He continued, “Then 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.”
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At the time, the two were parents to five children, daughters Olivia, 12, Annabel, 9, Emilia, 6, Annabel, 9 and Gwendolyn, 4, and son Joshua, 10. Van Der Beek remembered that their children did not seem to be aware of what was happening, and he was able to put them to bed.
“And then Kim lied down in the shower and then wasn’t waking up,” he recalled. “So that’s when I called 911.”
Van Der Beek then called Rometo, who rushed over to help. The Beverly Hills paramedics arrived as Kimberly said she continued to lose consciousness every time she sat up. Rometo accompanied Kimberly as she was taken to the hospital while Van Der Beek stayed behind to look after their children.
James Van Der Beek remembered that the moment felt like “an emotional gut punch.” (Photo by Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage)
The “Varsity Blues” star recalled that their daughter Gwendolyn had woken up before Kimberly left for the hospital. “I felt like they needed one parent home,” he said.
“You were gone,” he said. “The ambulance had taken you away. I got Gwen back to bed. And I’m just sitting there in a bathroom full of blood.”
He continued, “And, dead little baby on the counter. It was just a gut punch, an emotional gut punch. It was almost like I got sucker-punched.”
Kimberly said that she feared she was going to die while being given blood transfusions at the hospital. Van Der Beek was heard crying as Kimberly remembered the emergency room doctor saying that the transfusions were not working.
“Literally the moment I surrendered, where I thought was going to be the moment that I died, the machines all began this steady, rhythmic beat again,” she said.
Van Der Beek remembered that he texted his “DWTS” partner Emma Slater to tell her about Kimberly’s miscarriage. He said that he would not be attending rehearsals the next day and most likely could not compete in the semi-finals two days later.
While visiting Kimberly at the hospital, Van Der Beek recalled that she asked about the show, and he told her he thought it was done. “And then you looked at me and said, ‘I’m not done watching you dance.'”
“Yeah, it was my favorite thing,” Kimberly said. “I wanted to see the samba again.”
Kimberly urged husband James Van Der Beek to compete in the “DWTS” semi-finals two days after her miscarriage. (Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images)
Van Der Beek went on to compete in the “DWTS” semi-finals, where he revealed that Kimberly had suffered a miscarriage.
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“My wife Kimberly and I went through every expectant parent’s worst nightmare. We lost the baby,” he said.
He continued, “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. It’s what I’ve been telling my kids.”
“All you know is that it brings you closer together. It breaks you open. It opens up your heart. It deepens your appreciation. It makes you more human.”
The next day, Kimberly took to her Instagram Story, writing in a November 2019 post: “In 48 hours, 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.”
Kimberly suffered another miscarriage in June 2020. The pair welcomed their sixth child, son Jeremiah, in November 2021.
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