James Van Der Beek's post-Dawson's Creek life has been a rollercoaster ride. His breakout role as Dawson Leery failed to propel his career to greater heights, as many had expected. Instead, he ended up playing a fictional version of himself in the prematurely canceled Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 and had several small TV appearances throughout the years. But nothing ever exceeded or leveled with his most recognized work.
In 2019, he competed in Dancing with the Stars, which put him on the map for a bit. But with the challenges in his personal life at that time, the TV star was forced to move away from Hollywood and into Texas with his family. Here are the tragic events that led to such a major decision.
The Death Of His Mother
In July 2020, Van Der Beek's mother, Melinda Van Der Beek passed away at the age of 70. The actor took to Instagram to announce her "shocking" death. "My mom crossed over last week. Even though we knew this was coming - and had actually thought we were at the end nearly a year and a half ago - I’m still in shock," the actor wrote alongside a photo of him with his parents and children. "I’m grateful she’s no longer in pain, I’m sad, I’m angry, I’m relieved... all at once and in different moments. Just trying to hold space and allow for it all."
The former DWTS contestant also credited his mother for his success. "To thousands of kids, she was 'Miss Melinda', a gymnastics teacher with a big heart, a creative spirit and a mantra: 'There’s no such word as can’t!' To my kids, she was Grammy M... a magical grandma with a big laugh and a basement full of costumes and Christmas lights," he continued. "And to me... she was my mom. She gave me life. She taught me how to tumble. Drove me to my first auditions. She believed in me based on nothing but her own intuition and she passed on a craziness that has been crucial to not just my success, but my own personal happiness."
His Wife's Multiple Miscarriages
Van Der Beek and his wife, Kimberly just welcomed their sixth child on November 22, 2021. Prior to that, Kimberly admitted to suffering five miscarriages. "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 hard experiences," she shared to The Make Down podcast in October 2020. "It has changed my day-to-day quite a bit because I’m in very much a healing mode right now." After the series of tragic miscarriages and the passing of Van Der Beek's mother, the couple decided to relocate to Austin, Texas.
"We wanted to get the kids out of Los Angeles. We wanted to give them space and we wanted them to live in nature." the actor told Austin Life. "When we were flying here for our anniversary, I felt an energy to Austin. The energy was the same energy that I’d felt shooting Varsity Blues here when I was 21 and I realized that feeling wasn't just where I was in my career or the movie I was shooting, all of which were very exciting, but that the energy is the place. It was really cool to realize, 'Oh, I can go be there. We can drop in and bring our family to that.'"
Kimberly added that it was all a "serendipitous" decision. "Having a mother pass comes in a lot of waves," she explained. "And having two late-term miscarriages and five total miscarriages, it was very serendipitous, and all of the messages brought us here in a very magical way." She also said that she's "a farm girl at heart who had never lived out her dream."
What's Texas Life Really Like For The Van Der Beeks
Austin's "hands-on village lifestyle" mainly convinced the Van Der Beek couple to move. " I’m not knocking on LA, and I love all my friends there, but in LA if you get sick, you get a Postmates delivery. If you want to move, you get a moving truck recommendation," Kimberly said. " In Texas, somebody makes you something and brings it to your doorstep or you have five friends pulling up with their trucks to help you move. It’s just a different way of life here. It’s not to say one is better than the other, but it’s that hands-on village lifestyle that I’ve been craving for so long." The Dawson's Creek star added that he does "feel looked out for" in their new home.