In a candid interview with The Cut, Rebecca Gayheart, 54, described the subtle but alarming moments that first signaled something was wrong with her husband.
During family meals, Gayheart said, Eric Dane, 53, began complaining that something felt off with his hand. Soon after, she noticed him struggling to use chopsticks and repeatedly dropping food—behavior that immediately raised red flags.
“That’s when we started seeing doctors,” Gayheart said. Early visits brought confusion rather than clarity, with physicians initially offering explanations that didn’t quite add up.
Despite those misdiagnoses, she said Dane couldn’t shake the feeling that something more serious was unfolding.
“He had this sinking feeling that it was something more serious. And I was like, ‘No, it’s not. I promise you it’s not. I can feel this! It’s gonna be OK,’” she told the outlet.
Dane was eventually diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS—a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and currently has no cure, according to the ALS Association. The condition gradually robs patients of muscle control, impacting movement, speech, and, eventually, basic bodily functions.
The former Grey’s Anatomy star is determined to keep on acting in any way he can. Dane recently starred in an episode of Brilliant Minds playing the role of a firefighter with ALS. In an interview on Good Morning America, he told Diane Sawyer, “I don’t think this is the end of my story. I don’t feel like this is the end of me,” as he continues to battle this progressive disease.
Gayheart said that since the diagnosis, her focus has shifted to supporting Dane through the progression of the disease in whatever ways she can. “I’m going to do my best to do right by him,” she said, explaining that means showing up consistently and trying to make the journey “better for him or easier for him,” in any way that she can.
Though the pair—married for 15 years before separating in 2017—are no longer romantically involved, Gayheart said their bond has shifted into what she described as a deep, enduring “familial love.”
That sense of family, she said, now centers on honoring Dane’s wishes and prioritizing time together with their children. The couple shares two daughters—Billie, 15, and Georgia, 14—and Gayheart emphasized the importance of keeping their lives as grounded and connected as possible amid a disease that she says has no “roadmap.”
