Rebecca Gayheart Opens Up About ‘Complicated’ Love With Eric Dane Amid His ALS Battle
Rebecca Gayheart is ending 2025 with a revealing look at her estranged husband, Eric Dane, and how their relationship has evolved because of his battle with ALS.
The 54-year-old actress wrote a raw and emotional first-person essay for The Cut on December 29 and broke her silence about their “complicated” love story. Gayheart explained that after meeting in 2003 and marrying in 2004, “their really lovely marriage” took a turn after 15 years.
She noted that “lots of s—t went crazy in our relationship, and it wasn’t good. We separated, but we never got a divorce; we were about to, and then we didn’t.” They “haven’t lived in the same home for eight years; he’s dated other people,” while she dated one person. Overall, it’s a hard relationship to define, even though they are still married after she withdrew her 2018 divorce petition in March 2025.
“It’s a very complicated relationship, one that’s confusing for people,” Gayheart wrote. “Our love may not be romantic, but it’s a familial love. Eric knows that I am always going to want the best for him. That I’m going to do my best to do right by him.”
The former duo share two daughters, Billie, 15, and Georgia, 14, and she wants to make sure to “show up” for their dad during the hardest time in his life.
The Grey’s Anatomy alum revealed to People in April that he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), aka Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS is “a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord,” per the ALS Association. There is currently no cure for the disease, with the average survival rate around two to five years after diagnosis.
Gayheart spoke to People in September and gave an honest answer for how their unique family was doing — and it was an emotionally raw place.
“I don’t think I’m at a place yet where I can pull out a positive nugget. I’m not there yet,” she confided. “I mean, we’re definitely dealing with something that has brought us all together, and Eric will always be my family, whether we’re married or not, or living in the same house or not, but yeah, we are closer, but we don’t like the reason why.”
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