James Van Der Beek discloses he got vasectomy before being diagnosed with cancer
AUSTIN, TEXAS: James Van Der Beek has revealed in an interview that he and his wife Kimberly decided to not have any more children after welcoming their youngest child — a son named Jeremiah, who is 3.
The 47-year-old actor, who disclosed his colorectal cancer diagnosis recently, told People that he got a vasectomy surgery done years before learning of the devastating diagnosis last year.
James Van Der Beek on being a father of six children
James Van Der Beek shares six children—Olivia, 14, Joshua, 12, Annabel, 10, Emilia, 8, Gwen, 6, and Jeremiah — with wife Kimberly Van Der Beek.
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Kimberly told the publication, “Well, we love having kids, but we didn't really plan it out. It just happened. We had one planned child.”
To which, James added, “One! Out of six. One was 100% on purpose. The one thing we really sucked at was not getting pregnant.”
“But thank God, honestly, because it's such a struggle for people, and we really don't take it for granted. I joke, and I laugh, but like, yeah, we really just kind of got lucky that way,” he stated.
James Van Der Beek got vasectomy done years before cancer happened
'Dawson's Creek' actor James Van Der Beek revealed that after having their sixth child, he and his wife decided to “stop this”.
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James said, “I figured the only way we're going to stop this is if we have some medical intervention.”
He also shared how he informed his children about the medical procedure.
“I said listen, guys, you know Daddy has some surgery on his private parts, so just be really careful when you run up to me not to bump into anything,” he recalled.
“And my youngest daughter looked me straight in the eye and said, 'Daddy, I hope your vagina feels better,’” James shared.
James Van Der Beek thanks wife Kimberly for her support
During the same interview, James Van Der Beek and wife Kimberly also spoke about life’s hardships.
“We've had five miscarriages. Two of them were late-term, near-death experiences. We've weathered a lot of storms together,” Kimberly said.
She added, “This has been a really difficult year, but there's been this underlying way that we savor life differently. It feels like we understand what real true presence is, what savoring life feels like, finding the beauty in all of it.”
James shared his cancer diagnosis on Instagram on November 3.
"I’ve been dealing with this privately until now, getting treatment and dialing in my overall health with greater focus than ever before," he wrote.
"I'm in a good place and feeling strong," he added.
About his cancer battle, James told People, “There’s no way to get through this without her. As much as it sucked this past year, there’s not a moment that I ever would have wanted to trade with her watching me go through this.”
“To every caregiver out there, man, God bless you and thank you,” he added.
He also spoke about how his children has reacted to his cancer diagnosis. “They’re scared,” he admits. “It’s natural. But they’ve been so supportive and loving and tender.”
