“This was astoundingly incredibly gorgeous!!! I feel a mama pride and she is not even mine!”
Eric Dane’s wife, Rebecca Gayheart, opened up about their “super complicated” relationship amid the Grey’s Anatomy alum’s ALS battle.
While appearing on the Monday, November 17 episode of the "Broad Ideas Rachel Bilson & Olivia Allen" podcast, Gayheart, 54, candidly discussed how she and Dane, 53, have prioritized putting up a united front for their daughters, Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13.
"I am definitely trying to show [my daughters] that we show up for people no matter what. And he is our family, he is your father. We show up, and we try to do it with some dignity and some grace and just get through it, and that we will get through it the best we can," she said. "I mean, it's super complicated for me."
Gayheart previously filed for divorce from Dane in 2018 after 14 years of marriage. However, the divorce was never finalized and it was revealed they called it off just weeks before Dane publicly announced his diagnosis in April 2025.
After noting that she and Dane have "been separated for eight years," she said she has tried to "stay optimistic" for their children.
"I don’t know if I’m doing it well or if I'm doing it in the wrong way or the right way. I’m just showing up. I'm showing up, and I'm trying to be there for them. I guess time will tell," she continued.
Gayheart also noted that she has experienced “growth as a person” and “as a human being” throughout the experience.
"It’s all very humbling. I think one piece of this that I hope I’m passing to my kids is the idea that you can show up for someone and be there for them, but you also have to show up for yourself, and that this is life,” the Christmas Blessing actress said. “Life, sadly, is just moments, good and bad strung together."
When it comes to their daughters, Gayheart said she wanted to make sure to provide them “with the opportunity to spend time with him, so that they don’t ever look back and go, 'I wish I would have spent more time with my dad' or ‘I wish I would have, you know, said this to him or asked him these questions or been there for him in a different kind of way.'”
"I don’t know what their takeaway will be," she admitted. "I know it’s super complicated right now for so many reasons."
Dane announced he was diagnosed with ALS, which is commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in April 2025.
"I have been diagnosed with ALS," he said in a statement to People at the time. "I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter. I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to set of Euphoria next week. I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time."
ALS “is a neurodegenerative condition that affects how nerve cells communicate with your muscles. It leads to muscle weakness that gets worse over time. Symptoms can affect how you move, speak and breathe,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. “ALS treatment includes therapies and medications to manage symptoms and slow the progression of the disease.”
