Inside James Van Der Beek's very private life on Texas ranch with wife and six kids as actor shares cancer diagnosis

Decades after James Van Der Beek was thrust into the spotlight acknowledgment to his relation successful the beloved WB bid Dawson's Creek, the histrion made the shocking determination to permission Hollywood behind.

The Rules of Attraction alum, present 47, moved onto a stunning ranch successful Austin, Texas, with his wife, concern advisor Kimberly (née Brook), and their six kids successful 2020, and since then, helium has opted for a overmuch quieter life, mostly retired of the nationalist eye.

But the erstwhile TV star's idiosyncratic beingness has been thrust backmost into the spotlight this week arsenic helium shared the quality that helium had been diagnosed with cancer connected Sunday.

James wrote successful a heartbreaking Instagram station that helium had been told that a tabloid was readying to people a communicative astir it, truthful helium was forced to stock it online sooner than he would person liked to person gone nationalist with it.

He did not uncover what benignant of crab helium had - but People magazine reported that it was colorectal crab - and added that helium would archer radical much 'when he's ready.'

James was erstwhile 1 of the astir fashionable actors connected the globe acknowledgment to his relation arsenic Dawson Leery successful the 1997 WB bid Dawson's Creek.

The amusement was arsenic his archetypal large relation and turned him into a monolithic prima practically overnight - and aft it came to an extremity successful 2003, helium went connected to prima successful a slew of different palmy movies and shows.

But successful caller years, his beingness has slowed down immensely, arsenic helium has switched his absorption to being a doting hubby and begetter instead.

He joined his wife, Kimberly, successful 2010 pursuing his highly-publicized divorcement from histrion Heather McComb, and the mates went connected to invited six kids together: Olivia, 14, Joshua, 12, Annabel, 10, Emilia, eight, Gwendolyn, six, and Jeremiah, three.

In 2020, pursuing an highly hard twelvemonth that progressive 2 gestation losses and the decease of his mother, the mates decided to relocate to Texas truthful that they could beryllium person to 'nature.'

Afterwards, James confessed that his 'priorities had changed' and that portion helium loved being a portion of the movie industry, helium would present lone get progressive successful projects that 'fit around' his family.

Following the actor's heartbreaking wellness update, FEMAIL has rounded up everything that you request to cognize astir his highly backstage beingness successful Texas.

Becoming a Hollywood heartthrob: James was skyrocketed into the spotlight owed to Dawson's Creek

James grew up successful Cheshire, Connecticut, and fell successful emotion with theatre astatine a young age.

He made his off-Broadway debut astatine lone 16 years aged successful the play Finding the Sun, and had tiny roles successful the films Angus and I Love You, I Love You Not passim the 1990s.

After graduating from precocious schoolhouse helium headed to Drew University for college, but dropped retired aft helium was formed successful Dawson's Creek successful 1998.

The show, which besides starred Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, and Joshua Jackson, was a immense occurrence and propelled him into the spotlight immediately.

He went connected to prima successful the play Varsity Blues, occidental movie Texas Rangers, drama Scary Movie, The Rules of Attraction, the bid One Tree Hill, governmental thriller Formosa Betrayed, aesculapian play Mercy, Anders Anderson's Stolen, ABC's Don't Trust the B---- successful Apartment 23, CSI: Cyber, and the Emmy-nominated bid Pose.

He besides wrote, produced, and starred successful the drama amusement What Would Diplo Do? and competed successful the 28th play of Dancing With the Stars.

Leaving the spotlight behind: Actor said goodbye to Hollywood to determination onto a stunning Texas ranch

But successful 2020, James near Hollywood and relocated with his household to Austin, Texas.

He told Fox News afterwards that the determination stemmed from him and his woman wanting their kids to beryllium person to 'nature.'

'We emotion it, we person a batch much space,' helium gushed astatine the time. 'We each needed a much contiguous transportation to nature.

'It's been a really, truly large determination and the kids are truly happy. 

'One of the benefits of getting retired of the large metropolis was getting to a spot wherever we could conscionable person much abstraction close extracurricular our door. It's a precise antithetic life.'

In addition, James described the determination arsenic 'really centering' and 'grounding' to People magazine, adding, 'It's conscionable connected us, not conscionable to nature, but to the earthy beingness cycles each astir us.'

His woman Kimberly besides told ET Online that they opted to determination aft enduring a 'crazy year' that progressive 2 tragic gestation losses and the passing of James' mom.

'We conscionable had been done a brainsick twelvemonth with 2 late-term miscarriages and my assemblage was inactive healing and it was hard for maine to locomotion astir astatine that point,' she shared.

'I was exhausted. And James' ma had conscionable passed, truthful to get [to] Texas, it was the nurturing hug we needed.

'Texas has the capableness to heal. It’s expansive and quality volition hug you and heal you.' 

James antecedently spoke astir his wife's archetypal gestation lost, which occurred successful the midst of his quality connected Dancing With the Stars successful 2019.

'It was conscionable truthful overmuch pain, and it was truthful unexpected due to the fact that everything was right, everything was fairytale,' helium said. 

'Everything was coming unneurotic perfectly ... We were some conscionable crying and sobbing.'

She past endured different miscarriage successful 2020, with James penning connected Instagram astatine the time, 'After suffering a brutal, precise nationalist miscarriage past November, we were overjoyed to larn we were pregnant. 

'This time, we kept the quality to ourselves. But past weekend, erstwhile again, 17 weeks in... the psyche we’d been excited to invited into the satellite had lessons for our household that did not see joining america successful a surviving carnal body.'

After moving, James admitted that his 'priorities had changed,' and that portion helium inactive loved acting and writing, helium present wanted to 'spend the astir magnitude of clip with his family.'

'I was truly enjoying the benignant of vocation that I had been wanting to physique for rather immoderate clip earlier 2020 but present my priorities person changed,' helium told Fox News. '[My adjacent role] would truly person to acceptable astir my life.'

But helium added,  'I bash emotion telling stories. That is thing that I've ever wanted to do, and I deliberation I'll ever proceed to bash that.'

Heartbreaking crab diagnosis: James has present revealed that he's battling the disease

James revealed that helium had been diagnosed with crab connected Sunday via Instagram.

'"It is cancer." Each year, astir 2 cardinal radical astir the satellite person this diagnosis. And I’m 1 of them,' helium wrote. 

'There’s nary playbook for however denote these things, but I’d planned connected talking astir it astatine magnitude with People mag astatine immoderate constituent soon… to rise consciousness and archer my communicative connected my ain terms.

'But that program had to beryllium altered aboriginal this greeting erstwhile I was informed that a tabloid was going to tally with the news.'

The histrion added that helium had been 'getting treatment' successful private, and apologized to the radical 'in his life' who had to find retired done the post. 

'I’ve been dealing with this privately until now, getting attraction and dialing successful my wide wellness with greater absorption than ever before,' helium continued.

'I’m successful a bully spot and feeling strong. It’s been rather the initiation, and I’ll archer you much erstwhile I’m ready.

'Apologies to each the radical successful my beingness who I’d planned connected telling myself. Nothing astir this process has occurred connected my preferred timeline… 

'But we rotation with it, taking each astonishment arsenic a signpost, pointing america toward a greater destiny than we would person discovered without divine intervention.'

The histrion is present slated to beryllium 1 of the galore celebrities to look connected Fox's The Real Full Monty, a two-hour peculiar wherever celebs volition portion to dispersed consciousness for prostate, testicular, and colorectal crab investigating and research.

He volition beryllium joined by Taye Diggs, Kansas City Chiefs antiaircraft tackle Chris Jones, and Dancing With the Stars justice Bruno Tonioli.