Rebecca Gayheart honors Eric Dane in rare comment after actor's death

Rebecca Gayheart shared a short and sweet tribute to Eric Dane two months after his death.

The actress and model shared a plaque of the late "Grey's Anatomy" star on her Instagram story on May 6 that read "In Loving Memory of Eric William Dane. 1972-2026."

Lana Del Rey's 2023 track "Say Yes To Heaven" is playing over the Instagram story post.

The "Euphoria" actor and Gayheart married in 2004 and shared two daughters: Billie, 16, and Georgia, 14. In 2018, the pair filed for divorce, but Gayheart legally dismissed the proceeding years later.

Following Dane's death, Gayheart shared a tribute, writing, "There aren't enough words to express our gratitude. You are truly holding us up during this difficult time."

In December, she pulled back the curtain on the dynamics of their relationship in an essay for The Cut, sharing that they lived together for eight years without being exclusive. "Our love may not be romantic, but it's a familial love," she wrote. "Eric knows that I am always going to want the best for him. That I'm going to do my best to do right by him. And I know he would do the same for me."

Eric Dane cause of death

Dane died on Feb. 19 from respiratory failure at age 53, nearly a year after he publicly revealed in April 2025 that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as ALS.

Amid his battle, he also advocated to bring attention to the rare degenerative disease that can impact the brain and spinal cord. He traveled to Washington, D.C., several times in the fall to urge Congress to renew the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act through the nonprofit's Push for Progress initiative and played an ALS patient on an episode of "Brilliant Minds."

His memoir, titled "My Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments," is set for a posthumous release on Nov. 3.

Publisher Penguin Random House described the book as "deeply personal work" and "a reflection on family, resilience, faith, sobriety, fatherhood, and what it means to live fully in the face of terminal illness."