Derek Hough is reflecting on an emotional video shared by James Van Der Beek following the news of the Dawson’s Creek star’s passing.
“My heart is heavy hearing about James’ passing. I immediately thought of this video he shared, it moved me to tears the first time I saw it, and it moves me even more now. I wanted to honor his memory by sharing,” he captioned the post.
“What a wise, thoughtful, loving man. Thank you, James, for your courage, your strength, and for sharing your light even in your darkest moments. Praying for his wife, his beautiful children, and his family. 🤍 Thank you James 🙏🏼.”
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Posted back in March of 2025, James spoke out about his battle with Stage 3 colorectal cancer at the time.
In the post, he explained how it also affected his marriage to Kimberly Van Der Beek as well as the lives of their six kids—Olivia, 14, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 11, Emilia, 8, Gwendolyn, 6, Jeremiah, 2.
“Today’s my birthday, and it has been the hardest year of my life,” James explained in the video.
“When I was younger, I used to define myself as an actor…which was never really all that fulfilling. And then I became a husband, and that was much better. And then I became a father, and that was the ultimate,” he said.
“I could define myself then as a loving, capable, strong, supportive husband, father, provider, steward of the land that we’re so lucky to live on. And for a long time, that felt like a really good definition to the question, ‘Who am I? What am I?’ And then this year, I had to look my own mortality in the eye.”
“I had to come nose to nose with death,” he continued.
“And 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 that 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. I could not be a provider because I wasn’t working.”
James said he “couldn’t even be a steward of the land” because he would sometimes be too weak to prune trees.
“As I move through this healing portal toward recovery, I wanted to share that with you because I think that revelation that came to me was due in no small part to all the prayers and the love that had been directed toward me. So I offer that to you, however it sits in your consciousness, however it resonates—run with it.”
“And so I was faced with the question,” he continued, “If I am just a too-skinny, weak guy alone in an apartment with cancer, what am I?”
“I meditated and the answer came through,” he said.
“I am worthy of God’s love, simply because I exist. And if I’m worthy of God’s love, shouldn’t I also be worthy of my own? And the same is true for you.”
He added: “And if the word ‘God’ trips you up, I certainly don’t know, I can’t claim to know what God is or explain God. My efforts to connect to God are an ongoing process that is a constant unfolding mystery to me. But if it’s a trigger, it feels too religious, you can take the word ‘God’ out and your mantra can simply be, ‘I am worthy of love.’ Because you are.”
“Thank you for the love and prayers, everyone. Have a blessed day,” he concluded.
Stars are reacting to the news of James‘ death.