James Van Der Beek, who rose to fame for his role on hit TV show Dawson’s Creek, has revealed another bundle of joy is on the way.
The actor is currently a contestant on Dancing With The Stars in the US, and decided alongside his wife to use this platform to break down the stigma of miscarriage by having their first ultrasound on camera.
He opened up about the experience in a post on his Instagram account, where he explains that they have received bad news during a first scan three times before, and hopes this removes the ‘senseless’ stigma around miscarriage.
Alongside a beautiful picture of their family of seven – soon to be eight – he wrote, ‘Thrilled beyond belief to announce that another little bundle of joy has picked us to be their family. We chose to have our first ultrasound on camera with our #DWTS crew capturing the result - something I NEVER thought we’d ever do... but @vanderkimberly and I have been through three of those first appointments to discover either no heartbeat, or no baby, and she wanted to share this moment.
‘Miscarriage (a word that needs a replacement - nobody failed to “carry”, these things sometimes just happen) is something that people rarely talk about, and often go through in secret. But there needs to be zero shame around it, or around giving yourself the time and space to grieve.
‘We decided to put ourselves out there - not knowing what we’d find - in an effort to chip away at any senseless stigma around this experience and to encourage people who might be going through it to open themselves up to love & support from friends and family when they need it most. Happily, for us - this time- we walked out with tears of joy.’
James and Kimberly tied the knot in 2010, and share daughters Olivia, nine, Emilia, three, Annabel, five, Gwendoyln, 15 months, and son Joshua, seven.
Last year, he also opened up about the pain and grief of miscarriages, following their own experiences.
He wrote, ‘It will tear you open like nothing else. It's painful and it's heartbreaking on levels deeper than you may have ever experienced. So don't judge your grief, or try to rationalize your way around it. Let it flow in the waves in which it comes, and allow it it's rightful space.
'Many couples become closer than ever before. Many parents realize a deeper desire for a child than ever before. And many, many, many couples go on to have happy, healthy, beautiful babies afterwards (and often very quickly afterwards - you've been warned.'
