Eric Dane loved his wife Rebecca Gayheart to the very end, before his tragic death on February 19th aged 53, 10 months after revealing his ALS diagnosis.
In an interview with Netflix, the Grey’s Anatomy star stated: “We still love each other deeply.”
“I just think we don’t want to live with each other. But there’s a lot of love there.”
“I will never, by the time anybody sees this, have fallen in love with another woman as deeply as I fell in love with Rebecca,” he continued.
“She’s the mother of my children,” he added.
Eric found love with model Rebecca Gayheart, whom he began dating in 2003. A year later, the couple tied the knot in Las Vegas in October 2004.
“The gutsiest thing I did was propose to my wife over dinner and jump in the car and fly to Vegas that night to get married,” Eric told Gulf Times.
© Getty Images“I didn’t want her to change her mind. Now that I’ve got her, ‘Let’s go.’ She said yes and she’s been saying yes for the last nine years. She said, ‘Yes,’ and I said, ‘Check.’ I love that woman.”
In 2010, Eric and Rebecca welcomed their first daughter, Billie, and a year later, they became a family of four with the arrival of their youngest daughter, Georgia.
In February 2018, Rebecca filed for divorce. “After 14 years together, we have decided that ending our marriage is the best decision for our family,” Eric told PEOPLE at the time. “We will continue our friendship and work as a team to co-parent our two beautiful girls, as they are the most important thing in the world to us.”
© Getty Images for AFIWhile the duo remained separated, Rebecca requested to dismiss the petition in 2025, just one month before Eric announced his ALS diagnosis. Appearing on Good Morning America in June, the actor shared an update on their relationship.
“I call Rebecca. I talk to her every day,” he said. “We have managed to become better friends and better parents. And she is probably my biggest champion, my most stalwart supporter, and I lean on her.”
Explaining why she decided to stay legally married to Eric, Rebecca told The Cut: “It’s a very complicated relationship, one that’s confusing for people. Our love may not be romantic, but it’s a familial love.”
© Disney General Entertainment Con“He made it very clear that he wants to spend time with his family as much as possible, and I am committed to facilitating that,” she added.
The actor, who is remembered as a loving husband and father, had been living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a diagnosis which he publicly announced in April last year. “With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS,” Eric’s representatives told HELLO! in a statement.
“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. Throughout his journey with ALS, Eric became a passionate advocate for awareness and research, determined to make a difference for others facing the same fight. He will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered, always.”
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