Rebecca Gayheart has spoken about Eric Dane’s final days and the family’s last week with him. Dane died on February 19, 2026, aged 53, after living with ALS. Gayheart shared her recollections in an appearance on the Today show.
She said Dane had been hospitalized many times before and had usually returned home, allowing the family to resume a routine that changed as his condition progressed. When he went to the hospital in February, Gayheart said, neither she nor their daughters, Billie, 16, and Georgia, 14, expected him to die.
Gayheart recalled that it took several days for them to understand the seriousness of the situation. By the third day, she noticed a change in the doctors’ tone and in the information they were sharing. Dane understood that his condition was changing and continued communicating with his family and close friends, although he had difficulty speaking, she said.
Gayheart said Dane made decisions about how he wanted to spend his final days. Their daughters were with him in his hospital room, which the family tried to make more welcoming with candles and music.
Dane and Gayheart began dating in the early 2000s and married in Las Vegas in October 2004. Gayheart filed for divorce in 2018, but called it off in March 2025. Dane’s ALS diagnosis became public the following month.
Sources: Just Jared.