Rebecca Gayheart shares insight into estranged husband Eric Dane’s final days
Rebecca Gayheart shares insight into estranged husband Eric Dane’s final days
Shelby StivaleThu, October 22, 2026 at 6:31 PM UTC
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Georgia Dane, Rebecca Gayheart, and Billie Dane; Eric DaneCredit: Phillip Faraone/Getty; VALERIE MACON/AFP via GettyKey Points -
Eric Dane’s estranged wife, Rebecca Gayheart, offered insight into his final days.
The Grey’s Anatomy star died at age 53 on Feb. 19, following a battle with ALS.
“It was truly an exhausting and heartbreaking experience,” Gayheart said.
Eric Dane’s last wish was to spend time with daughters Billie, 16, and Georgia, 14.
“We tried to be present through all of our fear and frustration and uncertainty,” his estranged wife, Rebecca Gayheart, told Entertainment Weekly sister site, PEOPLE, in an interview published on Thursday. She noted that they had sushi lunches, watched movies, and had game nights in the months before Dane’s death.
“It was truly an exhausting and heartbreaking experience, but it also showed us his extraordinary strength every day,” she continued. “That was really wonderful for the girls and myself to witness.”
Dane and Gayheart were married for 14 years before separating. She filed for divorce in 2018, but their split was never finalized. Gayheart requested to dismiss the divorce petition in March 2025.
Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart at the Chrysalis Butterfly Ball in 2017Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Gayheart’s interview comes weeks ahead of the release of Dane’s posthumous memoir, My Book of Days, which hits shelves on Nov. 3. The actor was apparently hesitant to write the book. Gayheart told PEOPLE that she was “grateful he did,” for their daughters. “It gives my girls the opportunity to know their dad as a human being,” she added.
Dane died at age 53 on Feb. 19, following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
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Earlier this week, PEOPLE published an excerpt from My Book of Days, which detailed the moment he called Gayheart with his diagnosis.
“I say to Rebecca on the phone, ‘It’s what we feared,’” the actor wrote. “I don’t remember a single word I said after that.” Despite their separation, Dane wrote how Gayheart stayed a constant in his life. “We are, always, a family.”
Dane felt “a violent impact,” similar to “getting the wind knocked out of me” after sharing that he had ALS. Gayheart was “wailing on the other end of the phone,” the late star recalled, noting that he broke down shortly thereafter. “My sobs make my body shudder, and I hear her words pouring out amid her tears, ‘I’m here, we’ll fight this together, I’m not going anywhere.’”
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One of Dane’s first thoughts was of his daughters — and how he was “going to fight” for them. “I’m going to show my girls how to walk through this life with grace and dignity, no matter what. I am going to FIGHT,” Dane wrote. “This has become my purpose. My reason. This is now my job.”
My Book of Days hits shelves on Nov. 3.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
