Who Is James Van Der Beek's Wife?

James Van Der Beek's wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, made headlines when she showed up to the "Dawson's Creek" reunion on September 22, 2025, in lieu of her husband, who was at home recovering from an illness amid his colorectal cancer diagnosis. In a video shared on Instagram by Today, Kimberly and her kids joined the cast on stage to sing the hit show's theme song, "I Don't Want to Wait" by Paula Cole. The audience showed their love for James by giving them a cheerful round of applause. 

Kimberly showed her love for the cast by sharing an Instagram picture of herself with Michelle Williams, Busy Philipps, and Katie Holmes, who has had a stunning hair transformation since her "Dawson's Creek" days. "Going deeper with these ladies has been so bittersweet ... Missed my guy so. But the support and the love has been healing to the core," the mom-of-six wrote. The "Varsity Blues" star also doesn't hold back about his love for Kimberly, and told "Good Morning America" how doting she had been since his diagnosis. "She's really taught me what unconditional love is," James gushed. The two indeed share a special bond, and it was a year after the actor's first failed marriage that he decided to give love another try with Kimberly. 

James Van Der Beek was married to Heather McComb for almost seven years before they finalized their divorce in 2010. He found love again with Kimberly Van Der Beek soon after his split with McComb, revealing that they met by chance while on a group trip to Israel, and he was ready to date again after his divorce. 

In a 2020 Instagram post dedicated to their anniversary, James shared, "Ten years ago today this woman made me the happiest I'd ever been. A year prior to that, I'd been famous, been wealthy, been married, been divorced, been less-than-wealthy, been single ... and I was in Israel, on a trip with an organized group, when it hit me: I was done being single." He revealed that Kimberly irritated him at first when she interrupted his conversation with a friend, but they connected a few days later, and the rest was history. "Six months later we were living together. Two weeks after that we were pregnant, and almost exactly one year to the date after she'd first interrupted me," he wrote.

In October 2024, Kimberly shared a throwback photo of her and James' younger days. "We were babies. So much life lived since then. Grateful for it all," she mused. The two have indeed gone through a lot since getting married, and while they welcomed six children together, the road to parenthood wasn't easy, but with the help of her partner after several miscarriages, Kimberly was able to heal. 

Kimberly Van Der Beek has an amazing brood of kids with James Van Der Beek, but she experienced several heartbreaking losses in between pregnancies. In 2020, before the former producer had her youngest son Jeremiah, she shared on the "The Make Down" podcast, "I understand that I am very blessed to be able to birth five children. I've also had five miscarriages, two of which were really harsh experiences ... It has changed my day-to-day quite a bit, because I'm in very much a healing mode right now." Kimberly revealed that as part of her healing process, she's taking more time for herself and is accepting more help with the kids, while also doing fun tea ceremony rituals with them as a bonding experience.

The losses are what prompted Kimberly and James to leave Los Angeles and make a home in Austin, Texas. Kimberly told Austin Lifestyle, "Nature was calling. I wanted to be immersed in nature, in trees and fields and the sky. We found this property and it's been like a dream come true." She gave a glimpse into her and James' peaceful rural life in November 2024 by sharing a video of the "Scary Movie" star doing yoga outside. The two shared a laugh when James asked if she was "video taping" him and joked about being old, proving that they still share so much love for each other after all these years.