Eric Dane Detailed Deep Love for Rebecca Gayheart in Final Interview
Eric Dane imparted some wisdom to his daughters in his final days.
Before his death at the age of 53 following his battle with ALS, the Grey’s Anatomy alum recorded a message for his and Rebecca Gayheart’s daughters Billie, 15, and Georgia, 14.
“Billie and Georgia, these words are for you: I tried. I stumbled sometimes, but I tried,” Eric said while fighting back tears in Netflix’s Famous Last Words, which premiered Feb. 20. “Overall, we had a blast, didn’t we?”
The Euphoria actor reflected on family trips to the beach with his daughters, days he called “heaven,” before sharing the “four things I’ve learned from this disease.”
“I hope you won’t just listen to me, I hope you’ll hear me,” he continued. “First, live now, right now in the present. It’s hard, but I learned to do that. For years, I would wander off mentally, lost in my head for long chunks of time, wallowing in worry and self pity, shame and doubt. I replayed decisions, second-guessed myself.”
However, he noted, “The past contains regrets. The future remains unknown. So, you have to live now. The present is all you have. Treasure it. Cherish every moment.”
Beyond his advice to be present, Eric—who revealed his ALS diagnosis in April—told his daughters how important it is to “fall in love.”
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
“Not necessarily with a person, although I do recommend that as well, but fall in love with something,” he shared. “Find your passion, your joy. Find the thing that makes you want to get up in the morning, drives you through the entire day.”
For Eric, his first “love” was acting, which he said got him through “my darkest hours, my darkest days, my darkest year.”
“My work doesn’t define me, but it excites me,” he explained. “Find something that excites you. Find your path, your purpose, your dream, then go for it. Really go for it.”
Instagram / Rebecca Gayheart
While Eric emphasized to Billie and Georgia how it is important to “choose your friends wisely,” reminding them to “just show up and love your friends with everything you have,” he left his kids with one final piece of advice.
“Finally, fight with every ounce of your being and with dignity,” he shared. “When you face challenges—health or otherwise—fight. Never give up. Fight until your last breath. This disease is slowly taking my body, but it will never take my spirit.”
“When something unexpected hits you, and it will, because that’s life, fight and face it with honesty, integrity and grace, even if it feels or seems insurmountable,” he added. “I hope I’ve demonstrated that you can face anything. You can face the end of your days. You can face hell with dignity.”
And with his “final words” to Billie and Georgia, Eric said, “You are my heart. You are my everything. Good night. I love you.”
For a deeper look at Eric’s ALS journey, keep reading.
(VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
Opening Up About His Private Health Battle
Eric Dane shared that he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in April 2025.
“I have been diagnosed with ALS,” Dane told People at the time. “I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter.”
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Returning to Set
The Euphoria star made it clear that he wasn’t stepping away from the screen amid his diagnosis, sharing in April 2025 that he was continuing to film the final season of the HBO series.
And Dane, whose Amazon MGM Studios series Countdown debuted over the summer, admitted that acting has kept him “sharp” has he navigates his health battle.
“I feel great when I’m at work,” he explained to E! News in June 2025. “Of course, there have been some sort of setbacks, but I feel pretty good. My spirit is always pretty buoyant, so at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”
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Detailing His First Symptoms
Two months after sharing his diagnosis, the Grey’s Anatomy alum spoke candidly about his journey, including the symptoms that led to his diagnosis.
“I started experiencing some weakness in my right hand,” Dane told Diane Sawyer in a sit-down on Good Morning America in June 2025. “I didn’t really think anything of it at the time. I thought maybe I’d been texting too much or my hand was fatigued, but a few weeks later I noticed it got a little worse.”
After nine months of appointments, which involved visiting two hand specialists and two neurologists, Dane was told he had ALS.
“I will never forget those three letters,” the father of two explained. “It’s on me the second I wake up. It’s not a dream.”
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“Sobering” Road Ahead
While sharing how the rare degenerative disease has affected him physically so far, he also detailed where he sees the progression headed.
“My left side is functioning, my right side has completely stopped working,” Dane shared during his interview with Sawyer. “I feel like maybe a couple more months, and I won’t have my left hand either. It’s sobering.”
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A Close-Knit Support System
As Dane goes through this health battle, his wife of over 20 years, Rebecca Gayheart, who filed to dismiss their 2018 divorce in March, has been by his side.
“I call Rebecca. I talk to her every day,” Dane shared during his interview with Sawyer. “We have managed to become better friends and better parents, and she is probably my biggest champion and my most stalwart supporter, and I lean on her.”
According to Gayheart, she and Dane are the “best of friends.”
“We are really close. We are great co-parents,” the Beverly Hills, 90210 star explained to E! News April 9, 2025. “We really figured out the formula to staying a family and I think our kids are benefiting greatly from it and we are as well.”
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Prioritizing Family Time
While Dane has been marking milestones with his and Gayheart’s daughters Billie and Georgia, he’s admitted he resents how his ALS is affecting the lives of his family members.
“I’m angry, because my father was taken from me when I was young,” the actor, whose father died by suicide when he was a young boy, said during his GMA interview. “And now there’s a very good chance I’m going to be taken from my girls while they’re very young. At the end of the day, all I want to do is spend time with my family and work a little bit, if I can.”
Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images & VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
Emmys Absence
Dane was set to present at the 2025 Emmys alongside his Grey’s Anatomy costar Jesse Williams on Sept. 14 but ended up missing the award show. A few weeks after his absence, Dane shared that he had to skip the show because of a hospital visit.
“ALS is a nasty disease,” he said during an interview with The Washington Post published on Oct. 2. “So I was in the hospital during the Emmys getting stitches put in my head.”
“I was a really upset about it,” Dane added. “But you know, there was nothing I could do about it.”
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His Hopes for the Future
Dane met with doctors and representatives from the I Am ALS organization in September, 2025, and spoke with California congressman Eric Swalwell about federal funding towards research for the currently incurable neurological disease.
“I wanna ring every bell,” Dane told Swalwell in a TikTok video posted by the politician on Sept. 29. “I have two daughters at home. I wanna see them graduate college, get married, maybe have grandkids.”
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His Tragic Passing
Dane died on Feb. 19 at age 53 following his yearlong battle with ALS. His family confirmed in a statement to E! that he “spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters.”
“Throughout his journey with ALS, Eric became a passionate advocate for awareness and research, determined to make a difference for others facing the same fight,” his family’s statement continued. “He will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered always. Eric adored his fans and is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he’s received. The family has asked for privacy as they navigate this impossible time.”
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