{"id":2279557,"date":"2026-02-12T22:26:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T22:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2279557"},"modified":"2026-02-12T22:26:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T22:26:14","slug":"alfonso-ribeiro-shares-heartbreaking-photo-of-last-goodbye-with-james-van-der-beek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/alfonso-ribeiro-shares-heartbreaking-photo-of-last-goodbye-with-james-van-der-beek\/","title":{"rendered":"Alfonso Ribeiro shares heartbreaking photo of \u2018last goodbye\u2019 with James Van Der Beek"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Alfonso Ribeiro shared a picture of his last moment with James Van Der Beek, before the actor <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/02\/11\/celebrity-news\/james-van-der-beek-dead-at-48-after-colorectal-cancer-battle\/\">died Wednesday<\/a> following a nearly three-year battle with colorectal cancer.<\/p>\n<p>Ribeiro <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DUquz8ykup7\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posted the intimate photo<\/a> on Instagram Thursday, showing him holding Van Der Beek close at his bedside. The \u201cFresh Prince of Bel-Air\u201d alum looked visibly emotional as he cradled Van Der Beek\u2019s head.<\/p>\n<p>Ribeiro shard that the photo was taken by Van Der Beek\u2019s wife, Kimberly, just a few minutes before he said his \u201clast goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy last moment was making him laugh one last time,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI really miss him already.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Alfonso Ribeiro shared a photo of his \u201clast moment\u201d with James Van Der Beek before the \u201cDawson\u2019s Creek\u201d alum died Wednesday.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Ribeiro said he made Van Der Beek laugh \u201cone last time.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Alfonso Ribeiro\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>He also shared a picture of the two in happier times on his Instagram Stories, writing, \u201cSo much love lived in this friendship.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/02\/12\/celebrity-news\/james-van-der-beeks-dwts-partner-emma-slater-reacts-to-his-death\/\">Van Der Beek competed on Season 28 of \u201cDancing with the Stars\u201d<\/a> \u2014 which Ribeiro co-hosts with Julianne Hough \u2014 with pro dance partner Emma Slater in 2019. <\/p>\n<p>Ribeiro previously shared he was \u201cbroken\u201d by the death of his close friend and revealed that he\u2019s the godfather of Van Der Beek\u2019s 7-year-old daughter, Gwendolyn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was my true friend brother and life guide. I was with him through this horrible journey to beat cancer,\u201d he wrote in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DUobrPskvfG\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a somber Instagram post.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>He noted that he learned so much from his late friend and that James and Kimberly changed his life. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Ribeiro previously shared that Van Der Beek and his wife, Kimberly, changed his life. <span class=\"credit\">vanderkimberly\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>He also shared a picture of the two smiling together on his Instagram Stories, writing, \u201cSo much love lived in this friendship.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Alfonso Ribeiro\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI will forever be in debt for all they\u2019ve given me and my family,\u201d he wrote. \u201cHe will live forever in my heart. I will always be there for their children. I will always hold my role as Gwen\u2019s Goddie daddy as one of the most important roles of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He concluded, \u201cI love you James and know I have a guardian angel watching over me. Being able to say goodbye this weekend will always live with me. RIP my brother. RIP.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kimberly shared on Instagram that her husband \u201cpassed peacefully\u201d Wednesday morning and \u201cmet his final days with courage, faith, and grace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since then, there\u2019s been an outpouring of support for the \u201cDawson\u2019s Creek\u201d alum.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Van Der Beek died after a nearly three-year battle with colorectal cancer. <span class=\"credit\">vanderjames\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>A GoFundMe was set up by the actor\u2019s friends to support Kimberly and their six children. <span class=\"credit\">vanderjames\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A GoFundMe was <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/02\/11\/celebrity-news\/james-van-der-beeks-friends-set-up-500k-gofundme-after-actors-cancer-battle-left-family-in-significant-financial-strain\/\">set up by the actor\u2019s friends<\/a> to support Kimberly and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/parents\/meet-james-van-der-beeks-6-kids-with-wife-kimberly\/\">their six children<\/a> \u2014 Gwendolyn as well as Olivia, 14, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 12, Emilia, 8, and Jeremiah, 3 \u2014 which has already <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/02\/12\/celebrity-news\/james-van-der-beeks-familys-gofundme-reaches-1-million-after-his-death\/\">raised over $1 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The GoFundMe page noted that James\u2019 family was \u201cout of funds\u201d due to bills associated with his illness and faced \u201can uncertain future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Celebrity donators <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/02\/12\/celebrity-news\/all-the-celebs-who-donated-to-james-van-der-beeks-familys-gofundme\/\">included Zoe Saldana,<\/a> who set up a recurring donation of $2,500 a month, as well as Derek Hough, Ricki Lake, Lydia Hearst and Kaley Cuoco.<\/p>\n<p>James\u2019 close friends have also publicly <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/02\/11\/celebrity-news\/james-van-der-beeks-final-days-captured-in-intimate-photos-with-friends\/\">shared their heartbreaking final moments with him<\/a>, including former WWE star Stacy Keibler, who posted a pic of the two enjoying a sunset. James appeared frail in the photo and sat in a wheelchair.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Ribeiro shared a link to the GoFundMe on his Instagram Stories. <span class=\"credit\">Alfonso Ribeiro\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The GoFundMe has already raised over $1 million. <span class=\"credit\">ABC<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cSpending these final days with you has been a true gift from God,\u201d Keibler wrote in part. \u201cI have never been so present in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe other night we watched the sunset together as you shared your wisdom, your hopes, and the promises we made to each other,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe the lesson you leave us with is this: The present moment is everything.\u2028Love the people in front of you.\u2028Say the words.\u2028Watch the sunset.\u2028Trust God, even when you don\u2019t understand.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source pagesix.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alfonso Ribeiro shared a picture of his last moment with James Van Der Beek, before the actor died Wednesday following a nearly three-year battle with colorectal cancer. Ribeiro posted the intimate photo on Instagram Thursday, showing him holding Van Der Beek close at his bedside. The \u201cFresh Prince of Bel-Air\u201d alum looked visibly emotional as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2279558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25177],"tags":[361553,22062,24003,21787,350582,21913],"class_list":["post-2279557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","tag-alfonso-ribeiro","tag-celebrity-deaths","tag-celebrity-news","tag-celebrity-social-media","tag-james-van-der-beek","tag-tv"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Alfonso-Ribeiro-shares-heartbreaking-photo-of-\u2018last-goodbye-with-James.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2279557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2279557"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2279557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2279559,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2279557\/revisions\/2279559"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2279558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2279557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2279557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2279557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}