Eric Dane's Final Call: The First Person He Told About His ALS Diagnosis

Eric Dane’s posthumous memoir,“My Book of Days,”arrives November 3, and it opens a window into one of the most emotional phone calls imaginable. After his 2024 ALS diagnosis, Dane called Rebecca Gayheart first. His words were simple and heartbreaking:“It’s what we feared.”Gayheart, who took the call alone in her closet, described the moment as a punch to the gut.

The two separated in 2018 and filed for divorce, but they stayed best friends and co-parents to their daughters, Billie and Georgia. Days before Dane went public with his diagnosis in April 2025, the pair called off the divorce entirely. Gayheart promised on that call that they’d fight the disease together, and she kept that promise until his death in February.

Dane passed at 56, leaving behind a memoir that touches on grief, caregiving, and the unconventional shape family can take. It’s heavy subject matter wrapped in a story of real devotion.

Who is the first person you’d reach out to in a moment like that? Let us know in the comments.