Some TV families last forever!
On Friday, James Van Der Beek revealed that Mary-Margaret Humes, who played his mother on Dawson's Creek, has continued to play a special role in his life.
"Every year since my mother died, [Humes] makes me cookies and sends them to me on my birthday," the actor, 46, captioned a clip on his Instagram Story. "I have the best TV momma on the planet."
In the video, Van Der Beek's children can be seen either sorting through a container of chocolate chip cookies or watching on as the older kids grab their first picks. The actor — who shares daughters Gwendolyn, 4, Emilia, 6, Annabel, 9, Olivia, 12, and sons Joshua, 10, and Jeremiah, 15 months — with wife Kimberly Van Der Beek, filmed the clip while holding his 15-month-old baby, and laughed on as his kids picked out some cookies.
"Okay guys, what do we got?" he asked his crew. "From Margaret, every year, on my birthday."
Humes, 68, reposted the clip on her own Instagram Story with the caption, "Where's the biggest?? Love u."
Van Der Beek's mother, Melinda Weber, died in July 2020 at age 70. At the time, the actor uploaded a series of photos of his mother, who was a professional dancer and gymnastics teacher, to social media in honor of her.
"My mom crossed over last week. Even though we knew this was coming — and had actually thought we were at the end nearly a year and a half ago — I'm still in shock," wrote Van Der Beek at the time. "I'm grateful she's no longer in pain, I'm sad, I'm angry, I'm relieved... all at once and in different moments. Just trying to hold space and allow for it all."
"To thousands of kids, she was 'Miss Melinda', a gymnastics teacher with a big heart, a creative spirit and a mantra: 'There's no such word as can't!'" he wrote. "To my kids, she was Grammy M... a magical grandma with a big laugh and a basement full of costumes and Christmas lights. And to me... she was my mom. She gave me life. She taught me how to tumble. Drove me to my first auditions. She believed in me based on nothing but her own intuition, and she passed on a craziness that has been crucial to not just my success, but my own personal happiness."
Van Der Beek and Humes first joined forces on the set of Dawson's Creek in 1998, and have certainly shared some wholesome moments over the years since the show ended in 2003.
In 2019, Humes and John Wesley Shipp — who played Dawson Leery's father — paid him a visit during his time on Dancing with the Stars. And while they didn't necessarily revive their roles as Gail and Mitch Leery, they still showed just how supportive a TV mom and dad could be.
At the show, all three reunited after for a sweet photo, which Humes said was the first the trio had taken together in nearly two decades. "So proud of this one right here!!!" she wrote. "Such an awesome night in the ballroom @dancingabc with @vanderjames ❤️."
Dawson's Creek also starred Katie Holmes (Joey Potter), Joshua Jackson (Pacey Witter), Michelle Williams (Jen Lindley), Busy Philipps (Audrey Liddell), Kerr Smith (Jack McPhee), Mary Beth Peil (Evelyn "Grams" Ryan) and Meredith Monroe (Andie McPhee). The cast reunited in March 2018 for Entertainment Weekly's 20th anniversary cover shoot.
