Rebecca Gayheart Honors Late Husband Eric Dane with Emotional Family Photo Tribute

In the wake of Eric Dane’s passing at the age of 53, his widow Rebecca Gayheart has shared a heartfelt collection of family photographs. The beloved actor, best known for his role as Dr. Mark Sloan or ‘McSteamy’ on Grey’s Anatomy, succumbed to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) on Thursday.

Dane had publicly disclosed his ALS diagnosis less than a year prior. This rare and incurable disease, often referred to in the U.S. as Lou Gehrig’s disease, progressively damages the nervous system, leading to muscle paralysis.

Despite their separation in 2017, Dane and Gayheart maintained a strong relationship as they co-parented their daughters, Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13. They never finalized their divorce, ultimately deciding to call it off just before Dane’s ALS diagnosis was announced.

Throughout Dane’s struggle with the degenerative illness, Gayheart remained a steadfast support. Even as they explored relationships with other people, the pair shared a profound bond. In his final interview, released posthumously by Netflix, Dane expressed that they continued to have a deep love for one another.

Gayheart remained a stalwart source of support for him amid his final decline, even as they continued to date other people, and he explained they still ‘deeply’ loved each other in his posthumously released final interview for Netflix.

Now she has offered fans a string of glimpses into their life together with their daughter, ranging from the time of their romance to their life as devoted co-parents.

Eric Dane’s widow Rebecca Gayheart shared a string of family photos of him in the wake of his death Thursday aged 53 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

One photo showed Gayheart and Dane in the early years of their relationship, lounging blissfully with Billie, who was still a toddler

Another was of Dane marking what appeared to be one of his later birthdays with two cakes, as Gayheart and their daughters gathered lovingly around him

One photo showed Gayheart and Dane in the early years of their relationship, lounging blissfully with Billie, who was still a toddler.

Another was of Dane marking what appeared to be one of his later birthdays with two cakes, as Gayheart and their daughters gathered lovingly around him.

Gayheart and Dane were pictured as a young couple beaming in front of their Christmas tree, one of their little daughters scooped up in her mother’s arms.

Dane’s friends set up a GoFundMe to help provide for his daughters in the wake of his death, and by Saturday morning over $183,000 of the $250,000 goal had been raised.

A source has revealed Johnny Depp had attempted to ‘ease the financial burden’ by allowing Dane to stay at one of his homes during his ALS battle.

‘He was living basically rent-free in one of the homes Johnny owns above the Sunset Strip. He told Eric to pay whatever he could or — couldn’t for rent,’ the source told Page Six, adding that Dane as a result had ‘one less thing to worry about.’

He had sharply declined after his diagnosis, using a wheelchair, losing the use of his right arm and pulling out of a public appearance last month citing the ‘physical realities’ his illness had forced him to face. 

Nevertheless Dane, whose recent work includes playing the father of Jacob Elordi’s character on Euphoria, insisted as recently as December that he would keep acting.

Gayheart and Dane were pictured as a young couple beaming in front of their Christmas tree, one of their little daughters scooped up in her mother’s arms

Dane, 53, who shot to fame on Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. Mark Sloan aka ‘McSteamy,’ announced less than a year ago that he had been diagnosed with the illness

He secretly recorded a final message for his daughters to be released posthumously in a Netflix special entitled Famous Last Words: Eric Dane

‘Billie and Georgia, these words are for you: I tried,’ he said while speaking directly to the camera, acknowledging: ‘I stumbled sometimes, but I tried’

He urged his daughters to ‘live in the present,’ sharing that he had been ‘lost in my head for long chunks of time, wallowing in worry and self-pity, shame and doubt’

‘I still have my brain and I still have my speech,’ he said on a virtual panel for IAMALS.org. ‘I’m not about to concede my purpose for some disease.’ 

He secretly recorded a final message for his daughters to be released posthumously in a Netflix special entitled Famous Last Words: Eric Dane.  

‘Billie and Georgia, these words are for you: I tried. I stumbled sometimes, but I tried, he said, speaking directly to the camera. ‘Overall, we had a blast, didn’t we?’

Dane then shared the four lessons he had learned over the course of his life that he wanted to impart to his daughters before he died.

‘First, live now, right now in the present. It’s hard, but I learned to do that,’ he said. ‘For years, I would wander off mentally, lost in my head for long chunks of time, wallowing in worry and self-pity, shame and doubt. I replayed decisions, second-guessed myself. “I shouldn’t have done this. I never should’ve done that.”‘ 

However he ultimately declared: ‘No more,’ a change in mindset that he characterized as a decision he made ‘out of pure survival’.

He encouraged his daughters to ‘fall in love,’ adding ‘Not necessarily with a person, although I do recommend that as well,’ and clarifying he meant: ‘Find your passion, your joy’

His third dictum was to ‘choose your friends wisely,’ to ‘find your people and allow them to find you and then give yourselves to them’

His fourth and final exhortation was to ‘fight with every ounce of your being and with dignity,’ inasmuch as ‘I hope I’ve demonstrated that you can face anything’

He added: ‘Second, fall in love. Not necessarily with a person, although I do recommend that as well. But fall in love with something,’ Dane said. 

Explaining that he had discovered acting at around his daughters’ age, he said: ‘Find your passion, your joy. Find the thing that makes you wanna get up in the morning.’

His third dictum was to ‘choose your friends wisely,’ to ‘find your people and allow them to find you and then give yourselves to them,’ inasmuch as the ‘best of them will give back to you. No judgement. No conditions. No questions asked.’

Sharing his gratitude for the friends who ‘stepped up’ when he became ill, he urged his daughters: ‘Just show up. And love your friends with everything you have. Hang on to them. They will entertain you, guide you support you and some will save you.’

His fourth and final exhortation was to ‘fight with every ounce of your being and with dignity. When you face challenges, health or otherwise, fight.’ 

Dane told Billie and Georgia: ‘Never give up. Fight until your last breath. This disease is slowly taking my body, but it will never take my spirit. So when something unexpected hits you, and it will, because that’s life, fight and face it with honesty, integrity and grace, even if it feels or seems insurmountable.’

The San Francisco-born actor’s voice broke as he reflected: ‘I hope I’ve demonstrated that you can face anything. You can face the end of your days. You can face hell with dignity. Fight girls, and hold your heads high.’

He concluded by saying ‘‘Billie and Georgia, you are my heart. You are my everything. Good night. I love you. Those are my last words.’