Kimberly Van Der Beek is marking a bittersweet milestone with a message of love and gratitude for her late husband, actor James Van Der Beek.
On Sunday (Aug. 2), Kimberly posted an Instagram tribute honoring what would have been her and James’ 16th wedding anniversary, six months after the Dawson's Creek star died from colorectal cancer at age 48.
"16 years ago I was the luckiest woman in the world to marry @vanderjames," she wrote. "The beauty of this marriage continues to unfold every day with all these incredible children we have. He continues to be present and guide us. I'm eternally grateful."
The post featured a collection of selfies of the couple alongside a photo of James with their six children.
James and Kimberly first met while he was traveling in Tel Aviv in 2009, and they married the following year at the Kabbalah Centre in the city. Together they raised six children: Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, and Jeremiah.
James died on Feb. 11, after a battle with stage 3 colorectal cancer, a diagnosis he had received in August 2023 and shared publicly in November 2024. Despite his illness, he kept working, appearing on the CW series Walker, Amazon Prime Video's comedy Overcompensating, and most recently in the Legally Blonde spinoff series Elle, which premiered in July.
Just two days before his death, he and Kimberly renewed their vows from bed, with friends filling the room with flowers and candles. Kimberly called the intimate ceremony "simple and beautiful and moving."
Sunday's anniversary tribute is the latest in a series of heartfelt posts Kimberly has shared since losing her husband. On his birthday in March, she wrote that she was "missing you tremendously."
In May, she opened up about the weight of her grief, writing, "The comforts of shock have worn off. The reality is settling in... and I miss him."
