Eric Dane blamed himself for split from Rebecca Gayheart

Eric Dane blamed himself for his split from wife Rebecca Gayheart in a Netflix special filmed before his death. “I think Rebecca was more willing to show up and do her part than I was,” he told Brad Falchuk for Netflix’s “Famous Last Words: Eric Dane.” The special was released Friday, one day after Dane died at age 53 following a difficult battle with ALS.

Dane and Gayheart separated in 2018 after 13 years of marriage, though they called off their divorce in March 2025, one month before Dane went public with his ALS diagnosis. The couple shared daughters Billie, 15, and Georgia, 14. In the special Dane said, “I don’t have that gene that just makes you wanna keep going regardless of what happens,” adding, “I’m like, ‘If there’s a hole in the boat, don’t try to patch the hole.’ Scuttle the damn thing and find a new one.” He praised Gayheart as “a fighter” who always “preserves,” and acknowledged “a lot of time lost” with her and their kids after the separation.

“We still love each other deeply,” he said.

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