Rebecca Gayheart has opened up about the devastating phone call in which Eric Dane told her he had ALS.
Gayheart, 55, revealed in an interview published Thursday that she retreated to her closet and shut the door after hearing the news from her estranged husband in 2024. She described his words as a “punch to the gut” that “took [her] breath away.”
Dane, who died in February at 56, recounted the same call in his posthumous memoir “My Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments,” which arrives in stores Nov. 3. The “Grey’s Anatomy” alum told Gayheart, “It’s what we feared,” according to an excerpt from the book published by People.
“I remember only feeling a violent impact, like getting the wind knocked out of me,” Dane wrote. He added that he didn’t “remember a single word” he said after delivering the diagnosis.
The “Euphoria” actor recalled Gayheart “wailing” on the other end of the line while he sobbed with “body-shudder[ing]” grief.
Gayheart eventually broke through the anguish with a promise. “I’m here, we’ll fight this together, I’m not going anywhere,” she told him, as Dane recorded in his book.
The couple’s bond had already survived years of separation. They married in 2004, spent 14 years together, and filed for divorce in 2018 but never finalized the split. Dane noted in his memoir that they “stayed close” while raising daughters Billie, now 16, and Georgia, now 14, speaking daily and even vacationing as a family despite their estrangement.
Days before Dane went public with his ALS diagnosis in April 2025, the pair made headlines by calling off their divorce entirely. Gayheart then remained by his side through his final months, a role Dane honored extensively in his memoir.
He dubbed the former model his “best friend” and detailed her constant presence during his illness. “She drops by every day, early in the morning, late at night, sometimes in the middle of the night when she knows I won’t be sleeping,” he wrote.
Dane also identified Gayheart as his emotional anchor when he needed to “talk,” “scream” or “cry.”
Gayheart said that if she could speak to Dane now, she would assure him about their children. “I’m going to look after [our] girls and protect them with everything in my body and soul,” she said.
The actress has continued to honor that commitment publicly while also navigating her own grief. Her candid reflections on the diagnosis call and its aftermath offer a rare window into the private final chapter of Dane’s life, one that unfolded largely outside Hollywood’s spotlight.
Dane’s death in February at age 53, following his public ALS battle, prompted an outpouring of tributes from former co-stars across his television career. The actor was best known for playing Dr. Mark Sloan on “Grey’s Anatomy” from 2006 to 2012, with a return in the show’s 17th season, and later starred in “The Last Ship” and HBO’s “Euphoria.”
His memoir, completed before his death, represents his final word on a life that included both professional triumphs and profound personal challenges.
Gayheart’s interview arrives as the promotional cycle for Dane’s book begins ahead of its November publication date.