Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart’s Co-Parenting Relationship Amid His ALS Diagnosis
Learn how Gayheart and Dane support each other and their daughters during this difficult time
Months after Eric Dane publicly shared his Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis, his estranged wife, Rebecca Gayheart, has opened up about their co-parenting relationship.
Dane and Gayheart’s relationship was a whirlwind, as the former couple tied the knot in 2004 after only about 10 months of dating. They welcomed daughters Billie in 2010 and Georgia in 2011. After 14 years of marriage, Gayheart filed for divorce and they separated, though the divorce was never finalized.
In March 2025, Gayheart dismissed the filing and about a month later, Dane revealed his diagnosis. While Dane and Gayheart are still separated, she is now opening up about where they stand as co-parents and how she is supporting her ex during this extremely difficult situation.
“I am definitely trying to show [my daughters] that we show up for people no matter what,” Gayheart shared on Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson & Olivia Allen. “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.”
Gayheart has explained that their daughters, now ages 15 and 13, have been struggling to deal with the split and Dane’s diagnosis.
“It’s all very humbling,” the actress said. “And 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. Life, sadly, is just moments, good and bad, strung together. There’s gonna be good ones, there’s gonna be bad ones, there’s gonna be exciting ones, it’s gonna be really sad. That is life.”
Where Rebecca Gayheart stands with Eric Dane
Gayheart and Dane may have dismissed their divorce filing, but that doesn’t mean things are any less complicated between them. Gayheart says she has found it difficult to deal with the intricacies of supporting her ex while also co-parenting and supporting their girls.
“It’s super complicated for me,” she explained. “We’ve been separated for eight years. The kids live with me 100% of the time…I try to stay optimistic about it all. I’m trying to learn from it and be a role model for them on how to go through something like this, which is really hard.”
Despite their separation, the actress explained that she will always support her ex and be there for him, especially with their children in the middle.
“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,” she shared recently, “but yeah, we are closer, but we don’t like the reason why.”
Eric Dane on his relationship with Gayheart
Fourteen years of marriage is no small thing and Eric Dane understands that. When asked in an interview with Diane Sawyer who he calls for support throughout his diagnosis, Dane quickly mentioned Gayheart.
“I call Rebecca. I talk to her every day,” Dane shared. “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.”
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