News | Entertainment
16 Feb 2026 13:10
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    James Van Der Beek and his wife meditated under a tree to decide whether they should move to Texas

    The 'Dawson's Creek' actor and his spouse Kimberly - who have children Olivia, 10, Joshua, nine, Annabel, seven, Emilia, five, and three-year-old Gwendolyn together - relocated from Los Angeles to Austin last year but first asked the state for "permission" to make it their new base


    Kimberly said: "When we were flying I asked Texas for permission to explore this as a place to live, just an energetic meditative sort of asking, and I got ‘yes.’ So, James and I took a drive and we thought we’re going to meditate under a tree and see if we get any information about living here.

    "I found an Oak tree that I wanted and James said ‘OK, let’s make sure’

    and he kept driving and then we got to a T in the road and realised we’d been driving on Sacred Oak Lane.

    "So, we went back to that tree and the information I was given was that Texas has the capacity to heal. It’s expansive and nature will hug you and heal you."

    And after a "crazy" year which saw Kimberly suffer two late-term miscarriages and James' mother pass away, their decision to make a fresh start was solidified and they're very happy with the "nurturing hug"

    they've received from the state.

    Kimberly told Austin Life magazine: "We just had been through a crazy year with two late-term miscarriages and my body was still healing and it was hard for me to walk around at that point.

    "I was still just a couple of months out of the hospital from my second one, so I was exhausted. James' mom had just passed, so to get that message from the trees of Texas was the nurturing hug we needed to feel welcomed here.

    "It felt like LA had kind of birthed us out and there was a real calling to move. It came from desire, it came from dreams, and by the time we left LA we were in a deep gratitude for everything it had given us, but Texas was saying, ‘Here’s what you need and we can provide this next layer for you.’ That was exactly what we needed."

    James was attracted to Texas because of its "energy".

    He said: "We wanted to get the kids out of Los Angeles. We wanted to give them space and we wanted them to live in nature. When we were flying here for our anniversary, I felt an energy to Austin.

    "The energy was the same energy that I’d felt shooting 'Varsity Blues'

    here when I was 21 and I realised that feeling wasn’t just where I was in my career or the movie I was shooting, all of which were very exciting, but that the energy is the place. It was really cool to realise, ‘Oh, I can go be there. We can drop in and bring our family to that.’"

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     16 Feb: DNA recovered from glove found near Guthrie home that appears to match suspect's glove, FBI says
     15 Feb: Heather McComb will remember James Van Der Beek as being "innocent, kind and pure of heart"
     15 Feb: Margaret Qualley felt "overwhelmed" when she began her acting career
     15 Feb: Bunnie Xo has been wowed by Jelly Roll's 300-lb. weight loss
     15 Feb: Jesy Nelson no longer has "time" to make music
     15 Feb: Lena Dunham replaced her friends with a "posse" of cats after moving to London
     15 Feb: Camila Cabello has revealed "it's taken a year" for her hair to recover after she dyed it blonde
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Let's go to Livigno... and qualifying for the freeski big air More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Strong signs of economic turnaround from the latest half-year results More...



     Today's News

    Business:
    Strong signs of economic turnaround from the latest half-year results 13:07

    Business:
    Retailers remain cautious despite a bump in card spending over the New Year period 12:47

    Law and Order:
    DNA recovered from glove found near Guthrie home that appears to match suspect's glove, FBI says 12:47

    General:
    Winter Olympics 2026: Matt Graham on dual moguls 'dad podium' as weather forces reschedule — quick hits from day nine 12:07

    Rugby League:
    Former New South Wales second rower Ryan Hoffman's welcoming a change to rugby league's representative selection criteria 11:57

    Environment:
    Firefighters have responded to more than 850 calls overnight - with severe gusts and intense downpours in the centre of the country 11:57

    Law and Order:
    A 43-year-old man has appeared in court charged with firearms offences - as a Police hunt continues for those responsible for a shooting in Onehunga a month ago 11:07

    Environment:
    Blustery winds and heavy rain are continuing to impact parts of the country - particularly the lower North Island 10:47

    Maori:
    How Indigenous ideas about non-linear time can help us navigate ecological crises 10:27

    Motoring:
    An action-packed first 250 miles at the annual running of Nascar's Daytona 500 10:27


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd