Love From Beyond: How James Van Der Beek Blessed His Ex-Wife's New Marriage

When Heather McComb walked down the aisle on May 30 to marry Scott Michael Campbell in Missoula, Montana, she wasn’t alone—at least not in spirit. The actress found profound comfort in knowing that her ex-husband, Dawson’s Creek alum James Van Der Beek, had given his blessing to her new chapter before his death from colorectal cancer in February 2026.

McComb, 49, and Campbell, 54, exchanged vows nearly four months after losing Van Der Beek at age 48. Speaking with Us Weekly on Monday, June 8, McComb reflected on a final gift from the man she was married to from 2003 to 2010—not judgment or bitterness, but genuine love and support.“James and Kimberly both knew that Scott and I were getting married and they both were so full of love and support and excitement,”McComb shared. That embrace from Van Der Beek and his second wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, who he married in 2010, meant everything to her moving forward.

What makes this story particularly moving is how McComb chose to honor that connection. Rather than letting Van Der Beek’s passing overshadow her joy, she interpreted the signs at her wedding—a double rainbow, two ladybugs, and two white doves—as evidence that he and other loved ones who had passed were celebrating with her.“I know we had a lot of people up in heaven shining on us that day,”she told Us.“I feel that is significant to Scott and I spiritually, and all the people that we lost, and we honor everybody who wasn’t there that day.”

McComb’s gratitude extended beyond the wedding itself. She’d already paid tribute to Van Der Beek after his death, posting a throwback photo from his 21st birthday and writing about the“decades”of friendship and love they’d shared. But this new chapter allowed her to complete a different narrative—one where an ex-partner’s final act wasn’t resentment or closure, but celebration.“Just to have his blessing on this marriage was something that I will always hold on my heart,”she said.

For McComb, who described Campbell as her“best friend in the whole world,”the real magic wasn’t in the supernatural signs or the nostalgia. It was in the knowledge that someone she’d loved deeply had genuinely wanted her to be happy. In a world where divorce stories often end in coldness or distance, this one ended in grace.