The past week has been an emotionally draining one for those closes to Eric Dane, as the actor passed away on February 19, 2026, less than a year after being diagnosed with ALS. Understandably, the days following his death have been filled with public tributes from family, friends and former co-stars from Dane’s 35 years in the entertainment world. Now, fellow Grey’s Anatomy vet Katherine Heigl has broken her silence with her own mournful and moving farewell message.
Heigl, whose career both exploded and imploded due to Grey’s Anatomy, took to Instagram on Sunday, Feb. 22, to share a grief-filled reflection that she’d hesitated to go public with before. As she put it:
I debated this post for days. I have never been comfortable grieving publicly. I share my tears, my stories and my memories with those I’m closest to and more times than not I share them only with the heavens alone. But that silence can often look like a lack of care which I could not abide here. Rebecca, Billie, Georgia… There is so little, if in fact anything, one can say about a tragic loss like yours. All the 'I’m sorries' and 'my prayers are with you' ring a bit hollow in the midst of so much pain and grief.
Heigl specifically addresses Dane's wife Rebecca Gayheart and their two children, Billie Beatrice Dane (15) and Georgia Geraldine Dane (14), in her post, as the family has certainly had a rough go of it in the last year or so. (Dane and Gayheart separated in 2018, but somewhat rekindled the relationship, though both allegedly engaged in romances outside of the marriage.) A family friend stepped up to launch a GoFundMe campaign following the Last Ship star's death, as a way to offset the numerous medical bills that piled up without Dane being able to take on as much work as he'd have liked.
The capmaign is currently over $300,000, which is amazing, though no amount of money can fill the void left by a loved one. To that end, Katherine Heigl addressed her own personal go-to source of inner peace when faced with such a devastating loss. In her words:
So I will say the only thing that has ever brought me peace when I’ve lost someone I love. It is Robert Frost’s poem 'Nothing Gold Can Stay' of which I have tattooed on my body in my parent’s handwriting so I will never forget that the moment of gold was worth it.
Heigl then shared lines from Frost's poem ahead of a few personal thoughts about Eric Dane himself.
'Natures first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; but only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, so Dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.' I will never forget Eric’s gold and I will forever be grateful I got to bask in it for even a brief moment in time. Thank you for sharing him with us. God Speed my old friend…here’s to your next great adventure.
Katherine Heigl's Dr. Izzie Stevens and Eric Dane's Dr. Mark "McSteamy" Sloan walked the same hospital hallways for four seasons and change on Grey's Anatomy, as he popped up late in Season 2 before becoming a series regular in Seasons 3-9. (He returned for a cameo appearance in Season 17.) Meanwhile, Heigl starred in the first six seasons of the Shonda Rhimes drama, though her final season was purposefully cut short after many months of exit rumors, and she more or less convinced Rhimes to release her from her contract.
Though she was the latest medical drama vet to share her grief over Eric Dane's death, Heigl was far from the only one. Many other Grey’s Anatomy stars paid tribute as well, such as Patrick "McDreamy" Dempsey, James Pickens, Kim Raver and Kevin McKidd. Shonda Rhimes also shared the love. To date, Ellen Pompeo is arguably the most noteworthy cast member who hasn't gone public with a tribute.
We at CinemaBlend send our thoughts and condolences to Eric Dane's loved ones during their time of mourning.
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