James and Kimberly Van Der Beek are expecting their sixth child together.
James and Kimberly Van Der Beek
The 42-year-old actor has taken to Instagram to reveal the couple are adding to their brood - Olivia, eight, Joshua, seven, Annabel Leah, five, and Emilia, three, Gwendolyn, 16 months - after filming their ultrasound on 'Dancing With the Stars', on which he is currently competing.
James - who last year opened up about his wife experiencing three miscarriages - wrote: "Thrilled beyond belief to announce that another little bundle of joy has picked us to be their family. We chose to have our first ultrasound on camera with our #DWTS crew capturing the result - something I NEVER thought we'd ever do... but @vanderkimberly and I have been through three of those first appointments to discover either no heartbeat, or no baby, and she wanted to share this moment. 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. We decided to put ourselves out there - not knowing what we'd find - in an effort to chip away at any senseless stigma around this experience and to encourage people who might be going through it to open themselves up to love & support from friends and family when they need it most. Happily, for us - this time- we walked out with tears of joy. #AndThenIDancedAQuickStep. (sic)"
Last year, James - who married Kimberly in 2010 - hit out at the miscarriage terminology and said nobody should be "blamed" for such a tragedy.
He wrote: "Wanted to say a thing or two about miscarriages... of which we've had three over the years (including right before this little beauty).
"First off - we need a new word for it. "Mis-carriage", in an insidious way, suggests fault for the mother - as if she dropped something, or failed to "carry." From what I've learned, in all but the most obvious, extreme cases, it has nothing to do with anything the mother did or didn't do. So let's wipe all blame off the table before we even start.(sic)"
The former 'Dawson's Creek' star poured his heart out about the grief the pair had experienced.
He continued: "Second... it will tear you open like nothing else. It's painful and it's heartbreaking on levels deeper than you may have ever experienced. So don't judge your grief, or try to rationalize your way around it. Let it flow in the waves in which it comes, and allow it it's rightful space.
"And then... once you're able... try to recognize the beauty in how you put yourself back together differently than you were before.
"Some changes we make proactively, some we make because the universe has smashed us, but either way, those changes can be gifts.
"Many couples become closer than ever before.
"Many parents realize a deeper desire for a child than ever before. And many, many, many couples go on to have happy, healthy, beautiful babies afterwards (and often very quickly afterwards - you've been warned. (sic)"
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