'Devastated': James Van Der Beek shares tragic news about his wife's miscarriage
In an emotional episode of "Dancing With The Stars" on Monday night, James Van Der Beek announced that his wife Kimberly Brook suffered a miscarriage on Saturday and their family is now mourning the tragic loss.
Brook later added in an Instagram story that she had been expecting a baby boy, and while in the emergency room for treatment, she almost died.
"My wife Kimberly and I went through every expectant parent's worst nightmare. We lost the baby," he said in a tearful message during the episode.
"The little soul that we had expected to welcome into our family took a shortcut to whatever lies beyond," he continued. "You never know why these things happen. It'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. Deepens your appreciation. Makes you more human."
The actor further expressed his thoughts on their family's recent loss in an Instagram post on Monday, writing, "Wrecked. Devastated. In shock."
"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," he wrote in the caption of his post featuring his wife with one of his daughters.
He assured his fans that Kimberly is now physically recovering, but their family has, "only just begun unpacking the layers of this one."
He added: "As many of you have said, 'There are no words ...' and it’s true. Which is why in a time like this it’s enough to know that you’re there. Grieving AND counting our blessings today."
Brook also shared a post after her miscarriage of her children playing. "It was a TOUGH weekend. Extra thankful right now to have help with my kids," she wrote.
"Keeping these cuties happy as can be while I replenish at home," she added.
The couple had announced in October that they were expecting their sixth child. They are parents to Olivia, 9, Joshua, 7, Emilia, 3, Annabel Leah, 5, and Gwendolyn, 1.
In that pregnancy announcement, Van Der Beek also mentioned the three miscarriages Brook has suffered in the past, in an effort to decrease the stigma attached to miscarriage.
"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," he wrote in his post.
