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. He is survived by his wife and their six children. "Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning," Kimberly wrote via Instagram. "He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace. There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend." Stars React to James Van Der Beek's Death at 48: Melissa Joan Hart, More Fellow DWTS pro Jenna Johnson also honored James in the comments section, writing, "An incredible father, husband, artist, and so much more. Sending your family all the love and comfort ♥️." Slater and James were partnered on DWTS season 28 in 2019. The pair ultimately finished in fifth place. While James had been considered for the reality show before, he explained that the timing wasn't right until that season. "This year, the timing was right and I realized I just really, really want to do this," he exclusively told Us Weekly at the time. "I've always loved dancing. I've always loved it. ... I love to move, I love music and it's fun." James Van Der Beek's Wife Kimberly Sends Sweet Message After Cancer Reveal James noted that the show was "exhausting mentally, physically and emotionally" in the "best possible way." "My favorite thing about my job is when I get to learn skills that most people don't ordinarily learn from the best in the world. Being challenged and having an amazing teacher is really my happy place," he told Us. "So whether it's learning fight skills for the next project that I'm going to do or learning how to ballroom dance ... Over the last 10 years, every year I would purposely seek out a skill, that I wasn't very good at and just learn. Just to go through the humility of not being good at something, of working through the challenges and then coming out on the other side with a new skill set." While reflecting on their time together, Slater shared that the season was beneficial for James and his family. "James sends me videos of his kids dancing to our songs that we performed on the show, and he just sent me one yesterday actually of Annabel, his middle daughter," Slater exclusively told Us in 2019. "She was dancing to our Viennese waltz song, 'I Put a Spell on You.' She had a costume on. I feel like the show was really good for James and I know that this is what he wanted." Slater continued, "He was able to show his kids that life is so creative and so beautiful and you've got to put yourself out there and open doors and not be afraid to try something that you're not necessarily used to. I think that rather than him just telling his kids that they have to do that, he was able to show them by doing the show."