Eric Dane's Heartbreaking Final Days: Wheelchair-bound Actor's Estranged Wife Rebecca Gayheart Reveals How She's 'Failed Miserably' as His ALS Battle 'Keeps Getting Worse'
Eric Dane's estranged wife Rebecca Gayheart confessed how she's 'failing miserably' amid his ALS battle.
Nov. 18 2025, Published 5:00 p.m. ET
Eric Dane's estranged wife, Rebecca Gayheart, has opened up on the impact of his devastating ALS diagnosis and how she's "failed miserably" as the actor's health rapidly deteriorates, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Dane, 53, was diagnosed with ALS, a terminal, progressive neurodegenerative disease, in April 2025 after experiencing symptoms about a year and a half prior. He publicly announced his diagnosis the same month.
Gayheart Details the Impact of Dane's ALS on Family
Gayheart revealed she wants to show her daughters how to 'show up' for others by supporting Dane.
During a recent appearance on Rachel Bilson and Olivia Allen's Broad Ideas podcast, Gayheart confessed Dane's ALS battle has been "super complicated."
Dane and Gayheart tied the knot in 2004 and share two daughters together, Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13. In 2018, the actress filed for divorce but requested the court dismiss her petition in 2025 following her ex's diagnosis, though they remain separated.
While reflecting on how their family has been effected by Dane's diagnosis, Gayheart revealed the lesson she wants her daughters to learn from watching her care for their father – and how she's "failing miserably" during the process.
Gayheart admitted she's 'failing miserably' at caring for herself amid Dane's health crisis.
"As a person, as a human being, it's all very humbling," Gayheart admitted, "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."
While the Jawbreaker star explained her family's crushing reality, she noted, "life, sadly, is just moments good and bad strung together."
The actress added: "There's gonna be good ones, there's gonna be bad ones, there's gonna be exciting ones, it's gonna be really sad."
Gayheart Admits She's 'Failing' at Taking Care of Herself
Gayheart dismissed her divorce petition amid Dane's ALS battle.
While Gayheart said she wants her daughters to learn how to "show up" for loved ones but also "show up for yourself," the star confessed she's been "failing miserably" at taking her own advice.
After sharing how one of her therapists reminded her she needed to prioritize her own health too, Gayheart declared, "You don't get a medal for suffering and not taking care of yourself."
Gayheart noted she's "trying to do better at" taking care of herself and leading by example for her daughters.
Dane's illness has rapidly progressed since April and he's now wheelchair-bound.
The mother-of-two continued: "Maybe I need to do more for myself and be a little more selfish, but my kids are still not used to that."
Gayheart noted trying to prioritize herself and the "timing of everything" has piled onto the already complicated situation.
As RadarOnline.com reported, Gayheart revealed she's doing everything in her power to make sure her teen daughters have no regrets about their relationship with their father and supporting him through his ALS battle.
She admitted it's been "extremely tricky" as a parent trying to "figure out how to handle it" with her kids, who have "such complex feelings about it all."
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Gayheart reiterated the importance of showing her kids "that we show up for people no matter what."
She added: "I mean this one this one is particularly difficult because I want just want to make sure I provide them with the opportunity to spend time with him, so that they don't ever look back and go, 'I wish I would have spent more time with my dad,' or 'I wish I would have you know said this to him,' or ask him these questions or been there, you know, for him in a different kind of way.
"I really want to make sure I can help facilitate that stuff for them, which is what I'm doing."
