Gayheart filed for divorce in 2018, but filed to have the divorce petition dismissed in March
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Just one day before Eric Dane announced his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis, Rebecca Gayheart, said that she and the actor are “the best of friends.”
“We are best of friends. We are really close,” the 90210 alum, 53, told E! News at a screening of the miniseries The Carters: Hurts to Love You in Los Angeles on April 9. “We are great coparents. I think it’s important to not look at a relationship that ends as a failure.”
“It’s just a season. It wasn’t a failure. It was a huge success,” Gayheart said of their relationship. “We were married for, I mean, we are still married, but together for 15 years, and we had two beautiful kids so I think that’s a successful relationship, and that’s how we look at it.”
Her comments came just one day before Dane publicly announced his ALS diagnosis.
“I have been diagnosed with ALS. I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter,” the Grey’s Anatomy alum, 52, exclusively told PEOPLE in a statement.
“I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to set of Euphoria next week,” Dane continued. “I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time.”
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Dane, who stars as the tortured Jacobs family patriarch in the hit HBO show, will begin production in four days on April 14. ALS, also referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a rare degenerative disorder that causes paralysis of the muscles over time.
Gayheart filed for a divorce from Dane in 2018, but filed to have the divorce petition dismissed in March with no prejudice, per documents obtained by PEOPLE. However, Dane was photographed with Priya Jain in February. The two have been linked since they were seen at a sushi restaurant in November 2024.
The couple share daughters Billie Beatrice, 15, and Georgia Geraldine, 13. They met in 2003 and married in a Las Vegas ceremony in 2004.
“My ex, Eric, and I, we are friends and we are doing our best to co-parent and maintain a family, even though we’re not married. Legally we’re still married, but separated,” Gayheart told PEOPLE in 2019. “And I think we’re doing a pretty good job of it. Life is just good. There are so many exciting things happening.”
