James Van Der Beek is mourning the loss of his mother Melinda Van Der Beek following her passing at age 70.
The actor, 43, broke the heartbreaking news on his Instagram account, where he paid a touching tribute to the woman who always believed in him.
‘Melinda Van Der Beek 1950-2020,’ James wrote with a purple heart and crucifix emoji. ‘My mom crossed over last week. Even though we knew this was coming – and had actually thought we were at the end nearly a year and a half ago – I’m still in shock.
‘I’m still in shock’: James Van Der Beek is mourning the loss of his mother Melinda following her passing at age 70
James described his mother as a positive influence on her gymnastics students and his own children.
‘I’m grateful she’s no longer in pain, I’m sad, I’m angry, I’m relieved… all at once and in different moments. Just trying to hold space and allow for it all. To thousands of kids, she was “Miss Melinda”, a gymnastics teacher with a big heart, a creative spirit and a mantra: “There’s no such word as can’t!”
‘To my kids, she was Grammy M… a magical grandma with a big laugh and a basement full of costumes and Christmas lights. And to me… she was my mom. She gave me life.
‘She taught me how to tumble. Drove me to my first auditions. She believed in me based on nothing but her own intuition and she passed on a craziness that has been crucial to not just my success, but my own personal happiness.’
Heartbreaking: The actor, 43, broke the heartbreaking news on his Instagram account, where he paid a touching tribute to the woman who always believed in him
‘A magical grandma’: James described his mother as a positive influence on her gymnastics students and his own children
‘Drove me to my first auditions’: Van Der Beek explained how supportive his mother had been throughout his life
Despite the painful loss, James seemed to take comfort knowing his children and her students would have Melinda’s support from ‘the other side.’
‘I don’t know what the grieving/healing process looks or feels like from here on out… all I know is anytime my kids – or any of her students – want to dress up, or get on a stage, or dance, or even just think of her… they’ll have a little extra love from the other side backing them up.’
The tribute included a slideshow of images showing Melinda doting on her grandchildren and supporting her son at Dancing With The Stars.
Aww: Among the photos in James’ slideshow was an image of Melinda with his father James at DWTS
Adoring grandmother: Melinda was ‘a magical grandma with a big laugh and a basement full of costumes and Christmas lights’
The loss comes amid a difficult year for James and his family, who have already suffered two miscarriages this past year.
James’ wife Kimberly suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage at 17 weeks last month, less than a year after enduring a miscarriage in November 2019.
The couple, who have five children together, have had five miscarriages in the last nine years.
‘After suffering a brutal, very public miscarriage last November, we were overjoyed to learn we were pregnant. This time, we kept the news to ourselves. But last weekend, once again, 17 weeks in… the soul we’d been excited to welcome into the world had lessons for our family that did not include joining us in a living physical body,’ James wrote in June.
James married Kimberly in 2010, and together they share daughters Olivia, nine, Annabel, six, Emilia, four, two-year-old Gwendolyn, and son Joshua, eight.
James rose to fame as the star of the hit high school series Dawson’s Creek. He returned to the spotlight last year competing on Dancing with the Stars.
Young Melinda: He shared a childhood photo of Melinda in his tribute
Light on her feet: James recalled how his mother taught him how to tumble as he shared a slideshow of images in his tribute
Teen drama: James rose to fame as the star of the hit high school series Dawson’s Creek