Eric Dane’s wife Rebecca Gayheart speaks out after his death from ALS

Dane’s death was announced Thursday, less than a year after he shared his ALS diagnosis

Rebecca Gayheart has spoken out after the death of her husband, Eric Dane.

Gayheart shared a heartfelt tribute to the Grey’s Anatomy star, who died Thursday aged 53, just 10 months after he publicly announced he was diagnosed with ALS.

After sharing throwback pictures Saturday of the late actor with the couple’s two children on Instagram, Gayheart noted her gratitude for those who have shown their support through a GoFundMe set up for the family.

“I am so blown away by the outpouring of love and support from our community,” Gayheart wrote Sunday on her Instagram Stories. “There aren’t words to express our gratitude.”

She added, “You are truly holding us up during this difficult time.”

Rebecca Gayheart has shared a tribute to her husband Eric Dane following his death from ALS (Getty Images)

Rebecca Gayheart shared her gratitude for her community's support on her Instagram Story following the death of her estranged husband (Instagram / rebeccagayheart)

The fund for Dane’s teenage daughters, Billie and Georgia, had raised $295,000 — over half of the fundraiser’s $500,000 goal — as of Sunday afternoon.

In a statement announcing Dane’s death, his family said: “With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS. He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world.”

Dane and Gayheart met in 2003, and the pair tied the knot less than a year later.

They separated in 2017 after over a decade of marriage. Gayheart filed for divorce in 2025, but dismissed the filing after Dane’s ALS diagnosis.

Although the couple was estranged, they remained close friends and co-parents for years, with Gayheart caring for Dane up until his death.

While the pair each dated different people, Gayheart wrote in an essay for The Cut in December 2025 that their “love may not be romantic, but it’s a familial love.”

Rebecca Gayheart and Eric Dane, pictured here in 2013, were married for over a decade before separating in 2017 (Getty)

In his final, pre-recorded interview, Dane praised Gayheart as his “best friend” and “biggest champion.”

“We’re still really best friends, but we’re not together,” he explained to Brad Falchuk in Netflix’s Famous Last Words interview that aired February 20. “By virtue of the distance of us living in separate homes, there’s a lot of time lost there. But I made sure that I can be there as much as possible and certainly when it counts.”

He continued: “Well we still love each other deeply, I just don’t think we want to live with each other. But there’s a lot of love there.

“I will never, by the time anybody sees this, would have ever fallen in love with another woman as deeply as I fell in love with Rebecca.”