Eric Dane’s wife explains why she called off their divorce weeks after actor's ALS diagnosis
Ellie Kemp
Featured Image Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Rebecca Gayheart revealed she called off divorcing husband Eric Dane after he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
The Grey's Anatomy star went public with his ALS diagnosis in April, with him admitting he'd put his early symptoms down to a common daily habit; texting too much - only the reality was worse than he could've ever dared to imagine.
Some 5,000 people in the US are diagnosed with the degenerative health condition every year.
ALS affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and gets worse over time, according to the Mayo Clinic.
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The disorder gradually robs people of their muscle control, making it progressively more difficult to move, speak, swallow and even breathe.
Currently, there is no cure for the disease.
In October, Dane was spotted in a wheelchair as he headed out with Gayheart and their daughter Georgia for a rare family outing to Sushi Park in West Hollywood.
Euphoria actor Dane and model Gayheart wed in 2004 and share two teenage daughters together, Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13.
Gayheart filed for divorce after 14 years of marriage in 2018, citing 'irreconcilable differences'.
She had requested joint legal and physical custody of their children, as well as additional spousal support, reports PEOPLE. But in March, seven years after first filing it, Gayheart dismissed the divorce.
This was weeks before Dane went public with his diagnosis.
Now, appearing on the Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson & Olivia Allen podcast, she opened up about why the divorce never went through.
Despite the pair being separated for eight years, she wanted to lead by example and demonstrate to her daughters that 'we show up for people no matter what'.
"...And he is our family, he is your father," she said. "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.
"I mean, it’s super complicated for me."
Elsewhere in the podcast, the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor said helping her daughters through their dad's diagnosis has been 'humbling'.
"I think one piece of this that I hope I’m passing to my kids is the idea that you can show up for someone and be there for them, but you also have to show up for yourself, and that this is life," she said.
"Life, sadly, is just moments, good and bad, strung together. There’s gonna be good ones, there’s gonna be bad ones, there’s gonna be exciting ones, it’s gonna be really sad.”
Speaking to Good Morning America in June, Dane expressed his gratitude for Gayheart's support.
Dubbing her his 'biggest champion', he said: "I talk to her every day. We have managed to become better friends and better parents.
"And she is ... probably my biggest champion and my most stalwart supporter. And I lean on her."