Eric Dane's Daughters, Billie and Georgia, Found Out About His ALS Diagnosis a Week After He Told Rebecca Gayheart
- - Eric Dane's Daughters, Billie and Georgia, Found Out About His ALS Diagnosis a Week After He Told Rebecca Gayheart
Kayla GrantDecember 29, 2025 at 10:43 PM
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Eric Dane (left) and Rebecca Gayheart in 2017 -
Rebecca Gayheart candidly shared more details about her year navigating Eric Dane's ALS diagnosis
The model and actress detailed everything from the moment she found out he had ALS to telling her children about the news
Gayheart and Dane share two daughters together: Georgia and Billie
Rebecca Gayheart shared details about the moment when she and Eric Dane told their daughters their father has ALS.
In an essay for The Cut, published Monday, Dec. 29, the model and actress, 54, opened up about the past year of her life navigating the Grey's Anatomy alum's neurodegenerative disorder. During the conversation, she revealed she was in her closet at the home she shares with daughters Georgia, 14, and Billie, 15, when she first learned he had ALS. Gayheart told the outlet that she and Dane, 53, "just started weeping" after he told her the news.
"It didn’t feel real because he was still okay," she recalled, referring to Dane. "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," Gayheart shared. "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."
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
Rebecca Gayheart (left) and Eric Dane in 2017
A week after the initial shock wore off, Gayheart and Dane decided to tell their children. Gayheart explained that they wanted to be as transparent and honest with their daughters about what was going on as possible.
"They’re older now — Billie is 15 and Georgia is 14 — and I’m a horrible liar," she wrote. "You can see right through me. So I asked a therapist, 'What is the best way to do this?' "
"We’ve had a family therapist who we’ve been working with since we separated, but I sought out professional help targeted toward teenage girls because it’s such a formative time in their lives — they’re trying to individuate while they’re having to deal with this really huge loss and anticipatory grief," she continued. "And she said, 'The kids will let you know; they’ll stop asking questions when they can’t handle it anymore, when it’s too much information.'"
With that advice, Gayheart shared that she wanted to give her daughters the opportunity to speak with Dane's doctor.
"They had a lot of questions that at that point I couldn’t answer, and I don’t even know if Eric could answer them," she said. "They’ve talked to her, and they know that she’s available at all times."
Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
Eric Dane (top right) and Rebecca Gayheart (top left) with their daughters in 2017
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Dane revealed his ALS diagnosis exclusively to PEOPLE in April. “I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time," he said in a statement at the time.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE at Step Up's 2025 Inspiration Awards, Gayheart said she and their two daughters are "taking it day by day" when it comes to Dane's diagnosis.
"We have some professional therapists who are helping us, and we're just trying to have some hope and do it with dignity, grace and love," she continued. "I mean, it's heartbreaking. My girls are really suffering, and we're just trying to get through it. It's a tough time."
Back in November, Gayheart appeared on the Broad Ideas podcast and shared how she's been approaching Dane's diagnosis with their two daughters. Gayheart said she's been telling her kids that "we show up for people no matter what" as their dad's ALS progresses.
"He is our family. He is your father," Gayheart said she told her daughters. "We show up, and we try to do it with some dignity and some grace and just get through it."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
