Rebecca Gayheart has described the final week of her husband Eric Dane’s life, recalling how his family came to understand the severity of his condition during a hospital stay. Dane, the actor known for “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Euphoria,” died on Feb. 19 at age 53, less than a year after announcing his ALS diagnosis.
In an interview with Today.com, Gayheart said she did not know that the week would be their last together, and that their daughters, Billie and Georgia, did not understand it at first either. Dane had been hospitalized several times during his illness and had previously returned home after receiving treatment, so the family expected the same outcome.
That changed by the third day of the stay. Gayheart said the doctors’ tone and the information they shared made it clear that something was different. Dane understood the shift as well, she said, and continued communicating with his family and close friends, though speaking had become difficult.
Gayheart recalled that Dane made decisions about how his final days would unfold. She and their daughters stayed with him in the hospital, holding family sleepovers, bringing battery-powered candles and playing his favorite music.
She said the family had not anticipated his death in February and that there was no clear guide to what the course of ALS would look like. While Dane remained mentally present, he was losing physical abilities, which Gayheart said was difficult for their daughters to witness.
Gayheart was the first person Dane told about his diagnosis. She said she promised to stay by his side and face the illness with him. The couple married in 2004 and had two daughters, born in 2010 and 2011. Gayheart filed for divorce in 2018, but withdrew the petition last November amid Dane’s health issues.
Sources: Page Six.