Eric Dane’s Wife Wants To Set The Record Straight On His Exes Speaking Out

It’s been just over a month since Eric Dane died at age 53 after a battle with ALS. The actor reportedly spent his final days surrounded by friends and family — namely his wife, Rebecca Gayheart, and daughters Billie, 15, and Georgia, 14. While Dane and Gayheart were officially still married, they were apparently not romantically involved, and the Jawbreaker star wants to set the record straight in regards to his ex-girlfriends.

Eric Dane was allegedly single — and had been for a while — at the time of his February 19 passing, TMZ reports, and it was just Rebecca Gayheart, Billie and Georgia who were at his side when he died. A source close to the family told TMZ:

There’s apparently no malicious intent behind the Dane family wanting to clarify this information, the insider said. Rebecca Gayheart understands her husband’s exes — namely Janell Shirtcliff and Priya Jain — are also grieving at this time, and she reportedly doesn’t want to diminish their feelings. The family just wishes to mourn without being "confronted by narratives that simply don't align with the truth they lived."

Rebecca Gayheart and Eric Dane were married in 2004, having two daughters before ultimately separating in 2018. They never officially dissolved the union, and in fact, Gayheart dismissed her divorce filing in March 2025 — one month before Dane publicly revealed his ALS diagnosis.

In the days following Dane’s death, Janell Shirtcliff — who reportedly had an on-off relationship with the actor for about three years — posted a series of photos and videos to Instagram Stories in his memory. Priya Jain, meanwhile, dated Dane for about a year from 2024 to 2025, and she told TMZ this month that she was still processing his death.

In his Famous Last Words interview (which can be streamed with a Netflix subscription), Dane talked only about his relationship with Rebecca Gayheart, saying they “still love each other deeply.” He told interviewer Brad Falchuk:

Eric Dane was likely best known as Grey’s Anatomy plastic surgeon Mark Sloan (aka “McSteamy,” one of the medical drama’s best characters) — though younger generations might know him better as Euphoria’s Cal Jacobs.

Many of his former castmates paid tribute to him following his death, but the most heartbreaking homage arguably came from the show itself. Grey's Anatomy honored Eric Dane with a McSteamy montage at the end of a recent episode, set to the tune of “Chasing Cars,” a song reserved for only the most heartbreaking of Grey’s Anatomy deaths.

Fans will still be able to see Eric Dane in one final performance, as he will appear on Euphoria Season 3 when the HBO hit returns on the 2026 TV schedule in April. In the meantime, we continue to send condolences to the actor’s family and loved ones as they grieve this loss.