As much as Rebecca Gayheart tried to stay positive, the actress was taking steps to make sure her family was prepared for husband Eric Dane's death. "I try to stay in the moment, even though there's no escaping thinking about the future. I worry so much about my girls losing their father - they're going through this while experiencing all the pressures that are put on young girls, and I want to do everything in my power to give them the tools they'll need," Gayheart, 54, wrote in a personal essay for The Cut published in December 2025. "They will be different because of this. I know that.