James appeared via video at the one-night-only event

Kimberly Van Der Beek speaking on Instagram (left); James Van Der Beek’s virtual appearance at the ‘Dawson’s Creek’ reunion (right).Credit : Kimberly Van Der Beek/Instagram; Courtesy Breanne Heldman

James Van Der Beek’s wife, Kimberly, shared an emotional video on Instagram after the Dawson’s Creek reunion on Sept. 22. James, who played Dawson Leery on the show for its six seasons, had to back out of the event due to illness, but surprised the audience with virtual appearances during the show.

The reunion was a one-night-only event in partnership with F Cancer, while also showing support to James, 48, as he’s navigated his own diagnosis of stage 3 colorectal cancer. In Kimberly’s video, she thanked everyone for their support and added, “I miss my husband.”

Kimberly, 43, began the video, filmed from her hotel bed, “I just got off with James, digesting the whole night tonight, and Michelle Williams was the brainchild of this night. It was such a gift.” Williams played Jen Lindley on the show. She also thanked Thomas Kail, Williams’ husband who directed Hamilton, for making “so many of the kids’ dreams come true on this trip.” She called them both “exquisite, very angel humans.”

Kimberly Van Der Beek speaking on Instagram.Kimberly Van Der Beek/Instagram

She also thanked director Jason Moore and Kevin Williamson, who created the show. “The entire cast has been beyond words. Words will never do justice for their support,” she said. She noted that Mary-Margaret Humes, who played James’ on-screen mom Gail Leery, sends cookies “on James’ birthday every year” and “sends the sweetest messages all the time.”

She thanked Katie Holmes (who played Joey Potter), Joshua Jackson (who played Pacey Witter), Busy Phillips (who played Audrey Liddell), Meredith Monroe (who played Andie McPhee), Kerr Smith (who played Jack McPhee), John Wesley Shipp (who played Dawson’s dad Mitch) and Mary Beth Peil (who played Jen’s Grams). “Everybody is amazing,” she said of James’ former co-stars. She also thanked producer Greg Berlanti, who helped produce the show, and F Cancer for being “incredibly supportive.”

“This night was so special to the whole family, and more importantly, like just feeling my husband fill the entire theater, and the love for him,” she said. “We’ll be unwinding this one for a while, but thank you for the love and support and for the prayers, cause right here, front and center, is my husband on my heart.” She rubbed her heart for emphasis.

She continued, “And it was a beautiful night, and I miss my husband. I can’t wait to go see him tomorrow.”

Later, Kimberly also shared a mirror selfie with Phillips, Williams, and Holmes on her Instagram grid, expressing her gratitude for “Going deeper with these ladies,” while noting the experience has been “so bittersweet.”

“They are magic, kind, gifted, heart-forward and… sacred. Missed my guy so. But the support and the love has been healing to the core. Will post more along the way. This was a fun spontaneous one as we all ran up and down several flights of stairs to our dressing rooms.”

James Van Der Beek’s virtual appearance at the ‘Dawson’s Creek’ reunion.Courtesy Breanne Heldman

When James announced he could not make the event, he wrote on Instagram, “This is the evening I’d been looking forward to MOST since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together, way back in January. So you can imagine how gutted I was when two stomach viruses conspired to knock me out of commission and keep me grounded at the worst possible moment.”

“Despite every effort… I won’t get to be there.  I won’t get to stand on that stage and thank every soul in the theater for showing up for me, and against cancer, when I needed it most,” he continued. He announced that Lin-Manuel Miranda would take over the part of Dawson for the reading of the pilot script during the event.

The Van Der Beek family and the cast of ‘Dawson’s Creek’ on stage at the ‘Dawson’s Creek’ reunion.Cindy Ord/Getty

On her Story, she also shared videos of her and James’ kids sightseeing in New York, including St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The couple share six kids: daughters Olivia, 14, Annabel, 11, Emilia, 9, and Gwendolyn, 6, and sons Joshua, 13, and Jeremiah, 2. Kimberly also reshared a video of the cast and her family singing the Dawson’s theme song, “I Don’t Want to Wait” by Paula Cole, which included two of their daughters, Olivia and Emilia, singing solos.

Kimberly also reshared a video of Philipps reflecting on the night. The 46-year-old actress said in part, “Obviously, James not being able to get there was heartbreaking for a million different reasons, but I was so glad that Kimberly and all the kids were able.”

After James announced he would not be attending the event, Kimberly explained to fans on Instagram why the family would still be attending. “Was important to him we come!!” she wrote in a comment responding to a fan. Before the show, she and her kids greeted fans waiting in line outside the theater. “Thanks for coming,” she told them.