Euphoria actor Eric Dane is navigating his ALS diagnosis, and the same goes for his family.
Dane’s wife, actress Rebecca Gayheart, opened up about the challenges that the couple’s two daughters are facing as they navigate their father’s illness. The duo are parents to two daughters: Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13.
“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,” Gayheart told PEOPLE during an appearance at Step Up’s 2025 Inspiration Awards, noting that the girls are “taking it day by day.”
“I mean, it’s heartbreaking. My girls are really suffering, and we’re just trying to get through it. It’s a tough time,” Gayheart continued.
Gayheart, 54, and Dane, 52, married in 2004. While the duo filed for divorce in 2018, they called it off in 2025.
“I don’t think I’m at a place yet where I can pull out a positive nugget. I’m not there yet,” said Gayheart, who rose to superstardom in the ’90s in films like Jawbreaker. “I mean, we’re definitely dealing with something that has brought us all together, and Eric will always be my family, whether we’re married or not, or living in the same house or not, but yeah, we are closer, but we don’t like the reason why. It’s a horrible disease, and I wish that there was a cure. I hope they find one soon, because it is just so sad.”
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Eric Dane is Partnering with an ALS Nonprofit to Benefit Research
Dane, who rose to superstardom as Dr. Mark Sloan on Grey’s Anatomy, later made waves on HBO’s hit Euphoria. These days, he’s using his diagnosis to help others by partnering with I Am ALS, an organization that’s working toward getting more funding for ALS research.
“I’m Eric, an actor, a father and now a person living with ALS,” Dane shared in the video. “For over a century, ALS has been incurable, and we’re done accepting the status quo. We need the fastest path to a cure, and that’s why I partnered with I Am ALS on the Push for Progress. Our goal: a billion dollars over the next three years.”
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“Together, we’ll renew the landmark law Act for ALS, give promising treatments to thousands of patients like me, and finally, finally, push towards ending this disease,” he continued.
Related: Eric Dane Shares First Video Message on ALS After Missing Emmys
