James Van Der Beek and his wife Kimberly are mourning the loss of their sixth baby on the way.
During Monday’s Dancing with the Stars semifinals episode, Van Der Beek announced that Kimberly suffered a miscarriage over the weekend.
“My wife Kimberly and I went through every expecting parent’s worst nightmare. We lost the baby,” an emotional Van Der Beek said in his video package. “The little soul that we had expected to welcome into our family took a shortcut to whatever lies beyond.”
“You never know why these things happen, that’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, it deepens your appreciation,” said Van Der Beek. “It makes you more human.”
Although Van Der Beek admitted that he didn’t think he’d be dancing on Monday evening, he chose to compete for Kimberly, who pushed him to continue in the competition.
“Kimberly, I love you,” said Van Der Beek, who dedicated the dance to his wife: “Kimberly, I’m dancing for you, I’m dancing for us, so here we go, babe.”
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Audiences watched as Van Der Beek danced a touching Foxtrot to Hozier’s “Take Me to Church.” After his performance, Van Der Beek wept as pro partner Emma Slater embraced him on the ballroom floor.
“Kimberly, I love you. Thank you for pushing me out on that dance floor,” the actor said in a sweet shout-out to his wife before judges awarded him and Slater a 27/30. “Thank you for everything you do. I don’t know how you do it. Five kids. You’re amazing.”
James Van Der Beek | Justin Stephens/ABC
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He further shared the tragic news on Instagram, writing, “Wrecked. Devastated. In shock. That’s how we’re feeling right now after the soul we thought were going to welcome into our family in April… has taken a short cut to whatever lies beyond this life. 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.”
“Grateful that she’s now recovering, but we’ve only just begun unpacking the layers of this one. Thank you to all of our friends and co-workers (and dance partners) who have shown up for us so beautifully during this time. 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,” wrote Van Der Beek.
Before he announced the devastating news on DWTS, Kimberly hinted at the tragedy on social media.
“It was a TOUGH weekend,” she wrote on Instagram earlier Monday. “Extra thankful right now to have help with my kids. Keeping these cuties happy as can be while I replenish at home.”
The Dawson’s Creek alum, 42, and Kimberly are parents to Gwendolyn, 16 months, Emilia, 3½, Annabel Leah, 5½, and Olivia, 9, plus big brother Joshua, 7½.
Van Der Beek revealed the couple’s pregnancy news on Instagram Oct. 7, sharing that he and Kimberly, 37, were “thrilled beyond belief to announce that another little bundle of joy has picked us to be their family.”
The Pose actor went on to explain in the caption that he and Kimberly decided to share the news on Dancing with the Stars after his wife suffered a number of miscarriages.
“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,” Van Der Beek continued.
“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,” the actor added. “Happily, for us — this time — we walked out [of the ultrasound appointment] with tears of joy.”
RELATED VIDEO: James Van Der Beek Opens Up About Expecting Sixth Child After Heartbreaking Miscarriages
During that night’s episode of DWTS, Van Der Beek told PEOPLE that revealing the news on the reality competition show was “thrilling” and that they decided to get Kimberly’s first ultrasound “on camera, to open it up and allow people to go through the experience — good result or not good result.”
“It’s a part of life,” he continued. “It really helps to go through when you have the support of friends and family. People so often go through it in secret. You need to allow yourself space to grieve and go through it. For us, we walked out incredibly happy and excited.”
When asked how he and his wife of nine years dealt with the heartbreaking miscarriage news, Van Der Beek said, “The only advice I have is that you can’t reason your way out of it and you can’t talk your way out of it. You just have to let yourself go through it and go through the journey and be there for each other.”
“Know that you can’t judge the pain, you can’t judge the process,” he added. “For us, thankfully, we also have three rainbow babies. It’s life. And also, don’t be afraid to talk about [it]. There’s a weird stigma that might still exist around it … things like that is when you need your family and friends.”