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James Van Der Beek shared a heartfelt tribute to his wife Kimberly as they celebrated their 15-year anniversary amid his cancer battle.
Posting via Instagram on Friday, August 1, James, 48, gushed over his partner and credited her for all her support, especially since his diagnosis in 2023.
“15 years ago today, this woman agreed to be my bride,” James captioned a photo of the couple. “@vanderkimberly you are the most extraordinary human I’ve ever met. One day I’ll tell the story of what you’ve endured these last two years and how you’ve shown up, time and time and time again. You have not only saved my life… you’ve shown me what it is to live.”
He continued, “There are no words for how much I love and appreciate you. I could not do this without you.”
Concluding the caption, he added, “Happy anniversary my love ❤️”
The Dawson’s Creek alum met Kimberly in 2009 during a trip to Israel and recalled the serendipitous meeting via an Instagram caption in 2020.
“I was in Israel, on a trip with an organized group, when it hit me: I was done being single. I wanted a real relationship. A soul mate. Someone with whom I could build a family. I was mid-revelation, rattling all this off to a friend of mine when a voice interrupted us, wanting to ask him a question,” James wrote. “I was annoyed. Who the hell was stepping all over my moment? I turned around … it was @vanderkimberly.”
The pair hit it off, and went on to wed in August 2010 in a small ceremony in Tel Aviv. Since then, they’ve welcomed six children together: daughters Olivia, 14, Annabel, 11, Emilia, 9, and Gwendolyn, 6, and sons Joshua, 13, and Jeremiah, 2.
The actor first publicly revealed his cancer diagnosis in November 2024, sharing that he had stage 3 colorectal cancer. He had been battling the disease since being diagnosed in 2023.
To mark his 48th birthday in May, James posted an Instagram video and admitted it had been the “hardest year of my life” as he explained the effect his cancer battle has had on his family.
James explained that defining himself as a “loving, capable, strong, supportive husband, father, provider, steward of the land” was central to his identity — and this was something thrown into disarray by his diagnosis.
“And then this year, I had to look my own mortality in the eye. I came nose to nose with death,” he said. “All of those definitions that I cared so deeply about were stripped from me. I was away for treatment so I could no longer be a husband who was helpful to my wife. I could no longer be a father who could pick up his kids and put them to bed and be there for them.”
However, he concluded that he managed to realize he was still worthy of love and self-love despite this dynamic shifting.
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