Eric Dane's Estranged Wife Reveals His Reaction To ALS Diagnosis: 'It Didn’t Feel Real'

Eric Dane's estranged wife, Rebecca Gayheart, has shed more light on his emotional ALS battle.

In an essay published on Monday, December 29, the media personality got candid about the early days of her former beau's health problems. She revealed her ex knew something was wrong long before doctors diagnosed him with the neurodegenerative disease. 

Eric Dane went public with his ALS diagnosis in April, a month after Rebecca Gayheart filed to dismiss their divorce filing after seven years without progress. The former couple welcomed two daughters during their over a decade union.

Gayheart poured her heart out in her essay for The Cut, recalling the day Dane called her to break the news about his ALS diagnosis. She noted that he had flown to San Francisco to see a neurologist, and she was home alone with her youngest daughter when the life-changing call came in.

The "Scream 2" actress had gone into her closet for some privacy, but those walls weren't enough to protect her for the morbid truth of her estranged husband's condition. Gayheart revealed that neither she nor Dane was ready to stomach their new reality when it hit them.

"When he told me that day, he just started weeping, as did I. It didn't feel real because he was still okay," Gayheart wrote, recalling her youngest daughter had immediately noticed something was wrong.

However, she tried and failed to reassure the little girl that nothing was wrong, as she couldn't come to terms with what she heard.

Dane's ALS diagnosis was a lot harder for Gayheart to stomach because she had repeatedly assured her ex that nothing was wrong with him a year before doctors confirmed his condition. She explained that the actor noticed the symptoms early and would say things like "Something's wrong with my hand."

Whenever Dane struggled to use his chopsticks or felt strange symptoms in his body, Gayheart claimed he had a "sinking feeling that it was something more serious." But she was always there to say, "No, it's not. I promise you it's not. I can feel this! It's gonna be okay."

Contrary to Gayheart's expectations, her estranged husband was not okay. She reflected on the day she heard about Dane's ALS diagnosis, recalling that she immediately knew what he had didn't come with a cure, a realization that shattered her heart to pieces.

Gayheart confessed that it took about a week for the initial shock to pass before she and Dane decided to break the news to their kids. She stated that she had to ask a third-party therapist instead of their family's therapist to guide her on the best way to break the news to her daughters.

She chose a therapist who specializes in teenage girls because she feared how her kids would "deal with this really huge loss and anticipatory grief." Gayheart noted the therapist told her the kids would have questions about Dane's condition that would need the correct answers.

Based on this advice, Gayheart connected her children to Dane's doctor so the medical practitioner could answer all their queries. Despite these preparations, she knew deep down that ALS wasn't a disease that followed a road map, and her estranged husband's condition could worsen at any moment.

In the same essay, Gayheart addressed the unique state of her relationship with Dane. The Blast covered the story, reporting that she reflected on their years-long estrangement and continued friendship after "sh-t went crazy" in their marriage.

She admitted that their relationship was "very complicated" and "confusing for people," but it was pretty simple for them. Gayheart explained that she had never stopped caring deeply for Dane, noting their "love may not be romantic, but it's a familial love."

Gayheart vowed to remain by Dane's side through his ALS battle, stressing that the most important thing to them was spending enough time with their daughters. Additionally, she hoped to be a role model to her kids by showing them the right thing to do.

Dane and Gayheart's romance started off without a hitch in 2003, with the then-couple enjoying a short courtship before walking down the aisle on October 29, 2004. They tied the knot in Las Vegas and enjoyed a scandal-free marriage until August 17, 2009.

According to PEOPLE, Dane and Gayheart made waves after a nude video of them with former Miss Teen USA Kari Ann Peniche was leaked on Gawker.com. At the time, the duo released a statement stating the tape shouldn't be seen as a sex tape but a consensual moment between adults.

A year later, Dane and Gayheart welcomed their first daughter, Billie Beatrice, on March 3, 2010. Their second daughter, Georgia Geraldine, was born on December 28, 2011. Seven years later, Gayheart filed for divorce in February 2018, citing "irreconcilable differences" as her reason for separation.

Although they are still legally married, Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart are no longer romantically linked.