Rebecca Gayheart has revealed that her family is in a “state of shock” following her husband Eric Dane’s death at age 53 following a battle with ALS.
“I just want to thank everybody for being so kind to us during the last couple of years,” Gayheart, 54, told Variety in an interview published on Wednesday, March 11. “It’s been challenging and meaningful, and people are kind.”
The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actress and Dane shared two daughters, Billie, 16, and Georgia, 14. The couple split in 2018 but later called off their divorce. (Dane was dating Janell Shirtcliff at the time of his death while Gayheart has been linked to billionaire Peter Morton in recent years.)
“I’m having trouble receiving all of the support and love coming at me from every which way because of Eric and the [entertainment] community that’s so generous with their time,” she said. “They’ve been holding me and the girls up the last two weeks, and I don’t think they’re going anywhere. I think they’re in it for the long haul. Hollywood gets a bad rap. That kind of makes me mad, because we have a lovely community of people, and I’m so grateful for them.”
Gayheart spoke out because of her late husband’s partnership with ElevenLabs in the final months of his life. The tech company has promised to offer its AI voice restoration software to 1 million people — including Dane — who lose their ability to speak due to a terminal diagnosis.
Per Gayheart, Dane’s partnership with ElevenLabs became “sort of urgent” because he started to lose speech ability as his ALS progressed. The model and actress confirmed that Dane and their daughters were able to hear his digitized voice before his death in February.
“[Our daughters] were like, ‘That’s not a recording. That’s your voice. That’s you,’” Gayheart recalled. “So it was spot on. He just had this way of speaking, and they captured it so beautifully.”
She went on, “[Our daughters] signed off on it, and we were thrilled to have it because we knew what was coming down the pike. We were all really struggling with the voice loss that he was already experiencing. Knowing we had that in our back pocket, just felt really good. I’m sad, and I know Eric is too, that we didn’t ever get to really use it. But what I do know is that he would want as many people as possible to have access.”
Dane’s family announced on February 19, 2026, that the former Grey’s Anatomy star had died just shy of one year after he went public with his ALS diagnosis.
“With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS,” his family confirmed to Us Weekly. “He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world. Throughout his journey with ALS, Eric became a passionate advocate for awareness and research, determined to make a difference for others facing the same fight.”
Rebecca Gayheart and Eric Dane in 2015. Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Their statement concluded, “He will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered always. Eric adored his fans and is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he’s received. The family has asked for privacy as they navigate this impossible time.”
Gayheart broke her silence following Dane’s death by sharing multiple throwback photos via Instagram and endorsing a GoFundMe campaign meant to support their kids.
