Kimberly Van Der Beek Opens Up About Her Miscarriage: "I Almost Lost My Life"

On Nov. 18's episode of Dancing With the Stars, James Van Der Beek opened up about a sad loss in his family. The actor revealed his wife, Kimberly, who was expecting their sixth child, suffered a miscarriage. Shortly after James's announcement, Kimberly shared her own feelings on Instagram. The couple announced their pregnancy 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, 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 talked further about the loss on her Instagram Stories that same day, and sent a message of gratitude for the love and support following the tragic news. "In 48 hours we lost our baby boy . . . I almost lost my life which is not a story that has been told," she said. "I'm not really ready to talk further about everything yet but at some point I will."