Eric Dane’s Family Taking ALS Diagnosis ‘Day by Day,’ Wife Rebecca Says (Exclusive)

Eric Dane‘s family continues to adjust to their new normal amid his ALS diagnosis.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE at Step Up‘s 2025 Inspiration Awards, the actor’s wife, Rebecca Gayheart, said she and the couple’s two daughters — Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13 — are “taking it day by day.”

“We have some professional therapists who are helping us, and we’re just trying to have some hope and do it with dignity, grace and love,” she continued.

“I mean, it’s heartbreaking. My girls are really suffering, and we’re just trying to get through it. It’s a tough time,” added the actress and model.

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Dane, 52, revealed his ALS diagnosis exclusively to PEOPLE in April. “I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time,” he said in a statement at the time.

Speaking to Diane Sawyer for Good Morning America in June, Dane reflected more on his diagnosis, stating, “I wake up every day, and I’m immediately reminded that this is happening. It’s not a dream.” 

Gayheart, 54, married Dane in 2004. She filed for divorce in 2018, but the pair later called off the split seven years later. Gayheart told PEOPLE of her current state of mind while dealing with Dane’s health, “I don’t think I’m at a place yet where I can pull out a positive nugget. I’m not there yet.”

“I mean, we’re definitely dealing with something that has brought us all together, and Eric will always be my family, whether we’re married or not, or living in the same house or not, but yeah, we are closer, but we don’t like the reason why,” she said. “It’s a horrible disease, and I wish that there was a cure. I hope they find one soon, because it is just so sad.”

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Earlier this month, Dane revealed a partnership with the nonprofit organization I AM ALS, one day after he missed a previously announced appearance at the 2025 Emmy Awards. (He was set to join fellow Grey’s Anatomy alum Jesse Williams onstage to present an award.)

“I’m Eric, an actor, a father and now a person living with ALS,” the Euphoria star said in the video. “For over a century, ALS has been incurable, and we’re done accepting the status quo. We need the fastest path to a cure, and that’s why I partnered with I Am ALS on the Push for Progress. Our goal: a billion dollars over the next three years.”

“Together, we’ll renew the landmark law Act for ALS, give promising treatments to thousands of patients like me, and finally, finally, push towards ending this disease,” Dane continued, referring to the law, signed in 2021, that is set to expire in 2026.

The bill called for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to help patients receive funding for treatments that would otherwise be inaccessible, and it also authorized the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to dedicate funds to finding a cure.

Gayheart, a philanthropist like Dane, was on hand to support Step Up during its Inspiration Awards at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles on Sept. 26.

“I just think it’s so important, as a female, for young women to have a village and a community to sort of hold them up,” she told PEOPLE of supporting the organization, which provides national mentorship for women of all backgrounds.

“They need help with connections, they need help meeting the right people, and supporting them in their dreams, we all do, and I didn’t have that. I’m from Kentucky. I went after it all on my own. I didn’t know anyone, and I had to find those people,” Gayheart continued. “And I think it would’ve been so nice having what these girls have.”

“I love the mentorship program. I love that they go to colleges and high schools, and they just offer so much support for females,” added the Urban Legend star. “I’m happy that it’s available, and I think now, we’re in a time when women are supporting women more, and I think it’s crucial. I don’t know why it took us so long to get here, but I’m happy we’re here.”