This is why actor James Van Der Beek and his family left L.A. for Texas
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"Dawson's Creek" alum James Van Der Beek and his numerous Van Der Babies now call Texas home.
The actor and his wife, Kimberly, relocated from their Beverly Hills abode to the Lone Star state this week with their five kids and two dogs in tow. The decision, he said, came after a harrowing year that included several family tragedies and his "premature" elimination from "Dancing With the Stars" last November.
"Sometimes a fuller life begins with an empty house. Leaving Los Angeles incredibly grateful for all the friends and memories we’ve made here. Onto the next big adventure!" Van Der Beek, 43, wrote on Instagram on Sept. 30.
Then Tuesday, he declared: "we've landed."
The "Varsity Blues" and "What Woud Diplo Do?" star explained why the brood made the move.
"In the last ten months, we’ve had two late-term pregnancy losses, each of which put [Kimberly ] in the hospital, we spent Christmas break thinking she had a tumor (the doctor was wrong, thank god), I was prematurely booted off a reality dancing show I was favored to win in front of the whole world, and my mom died. And a shut-down. All of that led to some drastic changes in our lives, and dreams, and priorities... and landed us here," he wrote Tuesday. "Overflowing with profound gratitude today."
A post shared by James Van Der Beek (@vanderjames) on Sep 30, 2020 at 11:30am PDT
The couple and their kids — Olivia, 9, Joshua, 8, Annabel Leah, 6, Emilia, 4 and Gwendolyn, 2 — visited the Grand Canyon, took in plenty of nature and adopted two new rescue pups along the way.
Van Der Beek readily documented the "freedom" he felt on the road trip and praised the ability to have his family spread out in nature unrestricted.
"At the park in Beverly Hills near the house we just moved away from... you were not allowed to fly a KITE," he wrote. "Also not allowed at any park in #BeverlyHills Riding a bicycle, climbing a tree, throwing a ball against a cinder-block wall, learning anything from an instructor, using weights, cones or any type of pad, wearing cleats (even rubber ones), and you couldn’t use the batting cage built next to the baseball field. ... when people ask why we’re moving our kids out of L.A. these are just some of the reasons."
His wife, whom he wed in 2010, echoed his sentiments.
Their new home is reportedly in Austin and is a sprawling riverside property with a barn and several cabins.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
