James Van Der Beek relocated his family to a new city during the height of the pandemic. They’ve since settled in, and are now focusing on supporting the actor as he battles a serious illness. In November 2024, actor James Van Der Beek shared troubling news about his health, revealing that he’s fighting cancer. Fortunately, he isn’t facing the disease alone, as he has the support of his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their children: Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, and Jeremiah.

Opening up about his diagnosis, the 47-year-old star confessed, “I have colorectal cancer. I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family.” “There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good,” he added. According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer starts in the rectum or colon, parts of the large intestine within the digestive system. Taking to her Instagram Story, Kimberly expressed her support for her husband in a heartfelt post. Over the post, set to Sneha’s “So This Is Love,” she tagged her husband and wrote, “Hi baby.”

With a picture of two Northern Cardinals feeding each other, the actor’s wife appeared to draw a parallel between themselves and the birds. The post read, “Northern Cardinals, the ‘romantic’ birds that mate for life, travel together, sing before nesting, and feed each other seed beak-to-beak during courtship.”

Meanwhile, James is facing his diagnosis in the Texas home that he and Kimberly leased during the height of the pandemic. On September 30, 2020, amid the pandemic, James shared Instagram images of the new house his family moved into in Texas. His wife and children gathered around a tree in one picture. In another, he and Kimberly posed in front of the fireplace; and the last photo showed some of the children sitting in an empty kitchen. She explained she was exhausted from managing the move, looking after the children, and living through the COVID-19 pandemic. Kimberly expressed her love for Texas while noting that Los Angeles and Beverly Hills had treated them well during their time there, providing easy access to amenities.

“But it was feeling really tight for a family of five kids. We had a pretty modest-sized backyard, no real grass to like scoot on or ride bikes,” she added. They moved there to be close to the local park, but unfortunately, the children couldn’t climb trees, ride bikes or scooters, or play ball due to the concrete surroundings. The actor captioned the post, “Sometimes a fuller life begins with an empty house.”

He continued, “Leaving Los Angeles incredibly grateful for all the friends and memories we’ve made here. Onto the next big adventure! ” The following month, Kimberly shared an Instagram video of herself discussing the move, which then included only five children and a few puppies. Kimberly felt they were restricted and found that Texas offered the space they needed for their growing family.