Eric Dane now receives around-the-clock care to help with his life-altering diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, his estranged wife has revealed.
The Grey’s Anatomy star, 53, who in April announced he was living with ALS, an incurable neurodegenerative disorder, has been legally married to Rebecca Gayheart since 2004. She filed for divorce in 2018; however, she later dismissed the petition in March to keep their family together amid Dane’s health challenges. They share two daughters.
In a new first-person essay penned for The Cut, Gayheart candidly shared that “Eric has 24/7 nurses now.”
Opening up about her hard-fought battle with the insurance company to get approval for full-time care, she recalled: “With the nurses, the woman from his insurance said to me, ‘You can keep applying, and I’ll keep denying,’ I was like, Oh? F that.
“I made it my mission. I was ‘locked in,’ as the kids would say. I crashed out, and then I locked it in. And we got it approved after two appeals.”
She explained that “the week is divided into 21 shifts,” and during the times when the shifts aren’t covered, she fills in.
Reflecting on the time they’ve spent together since his diagnosis, Gayheart said: “It’s all been really positive, and I think it’s nice for the kids to see maybe a softer side of us. It’s not that they have the hopes of us being together — kids always dream of their parents getting back together, and I think now ours don’t because they understand the reality of the situation. And hopefully, what they see instead are two adults who are trying to be mature and focus on what’s important.”
While they’ve been separated for eight years, the Jawbreaker actor looks back fondly on their marriage.
“We had a really lovely marriage for a long time — we were married for 15 years — we created two beautiful girls,” she said. “But also, lots of s*** went crazy in our relationship, and it wasn’t good.”
Addressing the intricacies of their “very complicated” relationship, Gayheart explained: “We separated, but we never got a divorce; we were about to and then we didn’t. We haven’t lived in the same home for eight years; he’s dated other people, I’ve dated someone. It’s a very complicated relationship, one that’s confusing for people. Our love may not be romantic, but it’s a familial love.”
Dane, who shot to fame as Dr. Mark Sloan on Grey’s Anatomy, has been vocal about his hopes to continue working despite his dwindling mobility.
“I’m fairly limited in what I can do physically as an actor, but I still have my brain, and I still have my speech, so I’m willing to just do about anything. I’ll take on any role,” he said earlier this month during a virtual panel with the I AM ALS organization.
“From here on out, it’s going to have to be ALS-centric. It’s going to be very difficult for me to play any other role. I’m fine with that. I’m grateful that I can still work in any capacity.”
Last month, Dane appeared on Brilliant Minds as a firefighter with ALS, his first on-screen role since he publicly shared his diagnosis.
