Eric Dane, the actor known for his roles on “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Euphoria,” described a terrifying moment during his battle with ALS in a posthumous memoir set for release, recounting how his 14-year-old daughter Georgia pulled him from the ocean after he nearly drowned.
The incident occurred while Dane was vacationing in Antigua following his 2025 diagnosis with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurological disease that affects muscle control. According to an excerpt obtained by People from his upcoming book, “My Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments,” Dane found himself unable to swim back to a boat and had to be rescued by Georgia and a friend.
After the rescue, Dane’s first call was to his estranged wife, Rebecca Gayheart. “Georgia hands me my phone,” he wrote. “‘I can’t swim, Rebecca,’ I say. ‘I can’t swim.'”
“She explodes into tears and I weep with her. We cry together. Finally, the tears slow, become reduced to gasps, and when we’re both cried out, Rebecca says, ‘I was afraid of this day. I knew it would come. I’ve been dreading it.'”
Dane spoke publicly about the episode in June 2025 during an interview with Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America.” “When I jumped into the ocean that day and realized I couldn’t swim and generate enough power to get myself back to the boat, I thought, ‘Oh God,'” he said. “And I realized in that moment I’m not safe in the water anymore.”
Dane said Georgia “dragged me back to the boat,” and that he broke down in tears afterward, though he made sure she returned to snorkeling and enjoying the rest of the trip with her friend.
Dane died on Feb. 19 at age 53, less than a year after disclosing his diagnosis. His death certificate lists respiratory failure as the cause.
A Family That Stayed Close
Dane and Gayheart married in Las Vegas in 2004 and had two daughters, Billie, born in 2010, and Georgia, born in 2011. Gayheart filed for divorce in February 2018 after 14 years of marriage, but the couple never finalized the paperwork and continued to vacation together with their children. Gayheart formally withdrew the divorce petition after Dane’s ALS diagnosis.
This past June, on the first Father’s Day since Dane’s death, Gayheart posted a tribute on Instagram featuring photos of Dane with their daughters. “I hurt for my girls today,” she wrote. “It’s a ‘first’ of many to come. I know Eric is looking out for them every day.”
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