Rebecca Gayheart on Eric Dane’s First ALS Symptoms & the Moment He Told Her His Diagnosis

Rebecca Gayheart is opening up about estranged husband Eric Dane’s ALS battle.

ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. It is an incurable, degenerative disease that progressively paralyzes a patient's muscles.

Gayheart wrote an essay for The Cut called “In Sickness and in Health,” explaining his early symptoms and revealing the heartbreaking moment he shared his diagnosis with her.

The actress wrote, "His symptoms started maybe a year prior. When we would have a meal with the kids, he’d say things like, 'Something’s wrong with my hand.’ He was struggling to use his chopsticks, dropping his food. That was when he started seeing doctors. He was initially diagnosed with a few other things, but he had this sinking feeling that it was something more serious.”

Rebecca said that Eric was at a neurologist’s office in San Francisco when he called her at home to tell her the news.

"When he told me that day, he just started weeping, as did I," she recalled. "It didn’t feel real because he was still okay.”

Gayheart went on, "I was here at home with my youngest daughter — my home, that I share with just the girls, since Eric and I separated in September 2017 — and I’d gone into my closet to take the call, trying to be private. She was saying, 'Mommy, what’s wrong? What’s wrong?' I tried telling her, 'Honey, nothing. Everything’s fine,' because I couldn’t process it. I didn’t know all the details like I do now, but I knew enough about ALS to know that there wasn’t a cure.”

These days Eric and Rebecca live 12 minutes apart and they "a lot of meals together" and "a lot of drop-by visits.”

While she initially filed for divorce in 2018, she withdrew the petition in March 2025.

She understands their relationship can be “confusing” to the outside world, but explained she just wants "the best for him.” 

"It’s a very complicated relationship, one that’s confusing for people,” Gayheart said. "Our love may not be romantic, but it’s a familial love.”

She also helped sort out his care, saying, "just figuring out the health-care system is its own thing — the health-insurance company will deny you what you’re asking for and you have to appeal and then you have to apply again.”

Gayheart also revealed, “Eric has 24/7 nurses now," adding that she helps out if needed.

Rebecca shared, “There are times that shifts aren’t covered, so I cover them. There was a 12-hour shift recently that I could not cover. I could only do four hours because of all the stuff that the kids are doing."

She called upon two friends to help, and said, "They both showed up and did a wonderful job.”

As for friends who have drifted away during this difficult time, she said, "It’s not easy for people. So I don’t hold any grudges toward [anyone] who hasn’t shown up."

Rebecca and Eric wed in 2003 and welcomed daughter Billie in 2010 and daughter Georgia in 2011.

In November, Rebecca opened up to the "Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson & Olivia Allen” podcast about how she wants to be a good example for her kids.

She explained, "I am definitely trying to show [my daughters] that we show up for people no matter what. 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.”