Grey’s Anatomy star Eric Dane reveals ALS diagnosis, plans to keep working

Eric Dane (extreme left) was a fan favourite on the show. Photo / Supplied

• Eric Dane has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and plans to continue working.
• He has expressed gratitude for his family’s support and asked for privacy.
• Dane aims to return to the set of Euphoria next week.

Grey’s Anatomy star Eric Dane has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The 52-year-old actor has gone public with the news that he’s battling the incurable degenerative condition – which affects the nervous system and causes muscle paralysis.

He revealed he’s grateful for the support of his family but insisted he plans to continue working and hopes to return to the set of his TV show, Euphoria, in the coming days.

He told People magazine: “I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter.

“I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to the set of Euphoria next week. I kindly ask that you give my family and [me] privacy during this time.”

The publication reports Dane plans to be back on set on Monday.

Eric Dane in Euphoria. Photo / HBO

ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease – after the baseball player of the same name who was diagnosed with the condition in 1939 – and is the most common form of motor neurone disease.

The average survival time after diagnosis is three years, but some ALS patients with a slow-progressing form of the disease can live much longer.

Physicist Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with the condition at the age of 21 and he lived until he was 76.

Dane is married to actor Rebecca Gayheart and they are parents to two children – Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13.

The couple married in Las Vegas in 2005 but Gayheart filed for divorce back in 2018. However, she filed paperwork in March to have the petition dismissed.

Shortly before Dane went public with his health crisis, Gayheart insisted they were closer than ever.

Speaking to E! News, she explained: “We are best of friends. We are really close.

“We are great co-parents. I think it’s important to not look at a relationship that ends as a failure. It’s just a season. It wasn’t a failure. It was a huge success.

“We were married for, I mean, we are still married, but together for 15 years, and we had two beautiful kids so I think that’s a successful relationship, and that’s how we look at it.”