Rebecca Gayheart has opened up about something intensely personal and very painful.
Seven months after Eric Dane told the world that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), his estranged wife — with whom he shares daughters Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13 — reflected on their family dynamic amid this extremely challenging chapter.
“I am trying to show them that we show up for people no matter what,” Rebecca explained on the November 17 edition of the Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson and Olivia Allen podcast.
“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. We will get through it the best we can.”
In 2018, Gayheart filed for divorce from the Grey’s Anatomy alum — but in March 2025, she dismissed the divorce filing.
Less than a month after she filed this dismissal, Dane revealed that he was diagnosed with the aforementioned disease.
“I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter,” he told People Magazine at the time.
We later learned that Dane only has one functioning arm.
“It’s super complicated for me,” Gayheart continued on this podcast. “We’ve been separated for eight years. The kids live with me 100 percent of the time. There’s been a lot of other stuff. I’m trying to stay optimistic, though, about it all.”
It’s complicated, but also important as a parent, Gayheart reasons.
“I don’t know if I’m doing it well or if I’m doing it in the wrong way or the right way,” she said. “I’m just showing up. I’m showing up and I’m trying to be there for them. I guess time will tell.”
ALS is an incurable neurological disease that attacks the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. As you might imagine, such a diagnosis is next to impossible for kids as young as Billie and Georgia to grapple with and/or comprehend.
“They are good girls who are just going through a lot,” the actress added. “They’re having such complex feelings about it all because it’s public. It confuses them.”
Dane is best known for roles on Grey’s Anatomy, The Last Ship and Euphoria.
“I don’t think this is the end of my story. I don’t feel like this is the end of me,” he said in June during a Good Morning America interview.
“I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to set of Euphoria next week,” Dane said in his original statement. “I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time.”
Gayheart previously said she and Dane are “best friends” and admitted on this podcast that the ongoing journey is understandably hard for her as well.
“I am definitely experiencing growth as a person, as a human being,” the 53-year-old said.
“It’s all very humbling. I think one piece of this that I hope I’m passing on 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. This is life. Life, sadly, is just moments, good and bad strung together.
“You never know what you’re going to get and we should treat today as a really special day. This isn’t a dress rehearsal. This is it. Whatever we’re doing today, this is our life.”