James Van Der Beek and his wife, Kimberly, had hoped to welcome a new member of their family in the coming year, but tragically lost the baby when Kimberly was four months along.
Now, the two say they are “still in repair” after suffering the loss. James posted a photo of them together on Instagram, writing “healing happens at its own pace.”
“Not the pace you’d like, and definitely not the pace at which the world keeps on moving... But it happens,” he said. “And there’s beauty in allowing yourself to be exactly where you’re at. (Plus, it’s not like you really have a choice, anyway.)”
Their November miscarriage is the fourth time it’s happened to the couple, though James noted it’s never happened this “late in the pregnancy, and never accompanied by such a scary, horrific threat to (Kimberly) and her well-being.”
James said the pregnancy took a toll on Kimberly, both physically and mentally.
“Kimberly is getting there,” he said a few weeks ago. “It’s been physically really, really tough. Way tougher than any of the births. It was a really scary situation.”
James and Kimberly wed in 2010 and have five children together — Olivia, 9, Joshua, 7, Annabel Leah, 5, Emilia, 3, and Gwendolyn, 1.
The actor also spoke about the miscarriage on his final episode of “Dancing With the Stars,” just before he took the stage and was eliminated in the semifinals.
"The little soul that we had expected to welcome in our family took a shortcut to whatever lies beyond," he told viewers at the time. "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 breaks you open. It opens up your heart. It deepens your appreciation. It makes you more human."
