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Rebecca Gayheart has opened up about how she and her two daughters are supporting Eric Dane after he was diagnosed with ALS.
Gayheart appeared on the Broad Ideas podcast on Monday, November 17, and spoke about how she has been dealing with the diagnosis of her two daughters, Billie, 15, Georgia, 13, and Dane. Gayheart said that as their father’s ALS progresses, he tells his children that “we show up for people no matter what.”
“He’s our family. He’s your father,” Gayheart reportedly told her daughters. “We come out there and try to do it with some dignity and grace.”
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She also revealed that her daughters are now living with Gayheart “100%” after separating from Dane eight years ago.
“We have been separated for eight years. My children live with me 100 percent,” Gayheart explained. “But I’m trying to be optimistic about all of this. I’m trying to learn from this experience and be an example to them on how to get through something like this. It’s really hard.”
He added, “I don’t know if I’m doing it well or if I’m doing it the wrong way or the right way. I’m just showing up. I’m showing up and I’m just trying to be there for them. Time will tell.”
Gayheart married Dane in 2004 and filed for divorce in 2018, but the two ended their split seven years later.
Back in September, Gayheart told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview that she and the couple’s two daughters “live with it every day.”
“We have professional therapists who are helping us. We’re just trying to have hope and do it with dignity and grace and love,” she continued.
“I mean, it’s heartbreaking. My daughters are really hurting. We’re just trying to get through it. It’s a tough time,” the actress and model added.
Rebecca Gayheart/Instagram
Dane revealed his ALS diagnosis exclusively to PEOPLE in April. “I ask that you please allow my family and me privacy during this time,” he said in a statement at the time.
Speaking to Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America in June, Dane reflected further on his diagnosis, saying, “Every day I wake up, I immediately remember this is happening. This is not a dream.”
In the same interview, Dane, a former competitive swimmer and water polo star, said that while undergoing his diagnosis, he had a frightening moment when he went into the water with one of his daughters.
“That day, when I jumped into the ocean and realized I couldn’t swim (or) not have enough strength to get back into the boat, I thought, ‘Oh my god,'” Dane recalled. “And in that moment I realized I was no longer safe in the water.”
In a voiceover, Sawyer explained that her daughter had to rush to her father’s rescue. “She dragged me back to the boat,” Dane said.
“What did you say to each other?” Sawyer asked.
“I almost broke down in tears, so I made sure my daughter went back to the water with her friends and continued snorkeling with the guide,” the father of two said. “But I was just heartbroken.”
