James Van Der Beek's Former Wife Ties the Knot 3 Months After His Passing — See the Wedding Photos

She mourned him in February. She married someone else in June. And the man she walked toward had been standing beside her for more than a decade.

Actress Heather McComb, 49, just got married — and the wedding photos from Missoula, Montana, are nothing short of gorgeous. But given everything that happened earlier this year, the timing has a lot of people doing a double-take.

There is more to this story than a headline. It starts decades ago, before "Dawson's Creek" went on air, and winds its way through a quiet divorce, a 15-year friendship, and one of the most heartfelt tributes an ex-wife has ever written about a former husband.

She Was James Van Der Beek's First Wife

Before Kimberly Brook — the woman Van Der Beek called his soulmate and the mother of his five children — there was Heather McComb.

The two actors got engaged in early 2003 and tied the knot over the Fourth of July weekend that same year in Malibu. It was an intimate outdoor ceremony — Michelle Williams, Busy Philipps, and Soleil Moon Frye were among the guests.

It lasted six years. In June 2009, both were 32 when they went their separate ways. His rep kept it brief: the split was "totally amicable."

A divorce settlement filed in Los Angeles in March 2010 filled in the details: Van Der Beek, earning $35,000 a month at the time, agreed to pay McComb — then earning $1,750 monthly — spousal support of $7,750 a month through December 2012.

He kept the North Hollywood home, his bank accounts, and all residuals from his work. They had no children together. He moved on, remarried, and built a full, loud, beautiful family life.

She stayed quietly out of the spotlight. However, the pair stayed friends until Van Der Beek's sudden passing on February 11, 2026, at the age of 48.

Her Emotional Tribute After Van Der Beek's Death

In February 2026, McComb posted a black-and-white photo to Instagram. It was the two of them — young, easy, unposed — taken on her 21st birthday, before "Dawson's Creek" had ever aired. The caption ran long, and every line of it landed.

She described him as "innocent, kind and pure of heart" — "a beautiful soul filled with so much light, love, talent, humor, depth, sensitivity, knowledge and a deep love of God."

She wrote that she would treasure the last words they had exchanged, and prayed that God would hold his family. And then she wrote something about his widow, Kimberly, that few ex-wives would ever put into words:

"I know that James loved being a father so much and oh how he loved Kimberly with his everything. True soulmates. How she showed up for him with such grace is so beautiful and something I will forever admire."

She signed off with "Till we meet again, you sweet soul you" — and urged her followers to donate to a GoFundMe supporting his family.

It was generous, measured, and clearly genuine. It was also not the post of someone who had lost touch with who Van Der Beek was. They had stayed close. The friendship had held.

The Man Who Had Been There All Along

By the time she was saying goodbye to Van Der Beek, McComb had not been alone for a long time. She was in a relationship with Scott Michael Campbell — actor, guitarist, and, as it turns out, her best friend for several years.

The 54-year-old grew up in Missoula, Montana, and has spent three decades building one of the steadiest careers in the business: recurring roles on "This Is Us," "Suits," "Longmire," "For All Mankind," and most recently "Chicago Med."

His film credits include "Brokeback Mountain" and "A Good Day to Die Hard." He is, by every account, the kind of actor other actors know and respect. He and McComb had been friends since long before romance entered the picture.

Then, in 2023, their friendship turned to something more. In 2024, McComb marked one year of their romance with a video of the two of them — Scott on guitar, her singing alongside him — and a caption that read:

"A year ago today these two best friends of 15 years started a new journey together. Thank you @scottmichaelcampbell for giving my heart a safe place to reside."

The relationship became a visible part of both of their social media accounts. In March 2024, Campbell posted a photo of the pair and wrote, "Happy Birthday to my lovely Heather ❤️🤗❤️🤗."

Later that year, McComb shared a birthday tribute of her own, calling Campbell "the best partner and most fun person to share this life with." She added, "I thank God every day for bringing us together in his perfect timing."

In April 2025, Scott got down on one knee beside a river in Montana and asked her to marry him. His caption was four words short of a love letter: "17 years of friendship turned into this! God is good."

The actress shared that she immediately accepted. "By the river in Montana my love and best friend @scottmichaelcampbell got on his knee and asked me to marry him. I said yes."

The Wedding Photos

Now that friendship-turned-romance has officially become a marriage. Over the weekend, McComb and Campbell shared photos from their wedding celebration in Missoula, Montana.

The images showed the couple exchanging vows, posing together outdoors, and celebrating with family and friends in what appeared to be an intimate and elegant gathering.

"Yesterday @scottmichaelcampbell and I under the covenant of God got officially married by my beautiful sister @essence_says surrounded by the people we love most in the world in our most favorite city Missoula Montana," McComb shared.

She described feeling grateful for everyone who traveled to attend the celebration. "Our hearts are full and humbled by all of the love that we were surrounded by."

Campbell, 54, shared his own wedding post featuring additional images from the celebration. "BEYOND BLESSED for the most AMAZING week getting married to the BEAUTIFUL soul who is @heatmccomb ❤️❤️."

He also thanked family, friends, and the team that helped make the wedding possible. The photographs capture a couple who spent years building a friendship before deciding to take the next step together.

A New Chapter

The timing of the wedding has naturally drawn attention because it comes just three months after the death of McComb's former husband.

Yet her public comments about both men paint a picture of two very different chapters of the same life. In February, she honored the memory of someone she once called her husband and continued to describe as a friend.

By June, she was sharing wedding photos with the man she says spent years as her best friend before becoming her partner.

The newly released images from Montana now serve as the latest chapter in a story that spans decades — from young love with Van Der Beek to a friendship that eventually led McComb back down the aisle.