Emma Slater is paying tribute to former Dancing With the Stars partner James Van Der Beek after his death at age 48. "I'm so devastated. He is and will always be family to me," Slater wrote in the comments section of Van Der Beek's Instagram on Wednesday, February 11, alongside a red heart emoji. "Love you so much James. The man that you are, you can be proud of. So grateful that I got to be there to say goodbye to you." James' wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, shared that the former Dawson's Creek star died on Wednesday after a battle with colorectal cancer.