Johnny Depp offered his old friend a place to stay with a pay-what-you-can arrangement during his final months, showing loyalty in the face of terminal illness. The move represents closure for Gayheart as she retrieves her late husband's belongings.
Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart never actually finalized their divorce despite being separated for seven years β she withdrew the petition in 2025 after his ALS diagnosis. Their daughter Billie turned 16 just days after her father's death, and the family remains in mourning.
Eric Dane died on February 19, 2026, at age 53, less than one year after his ALS diagnosis. He was living rent-free in Johnny Depp's home above the Sunset Strip. His memoir "My Book of Days" is scheduled for release on November 3, 2026.
This isn't just a property retrieval β it's the final chapter of a relationship that was technically still legal at the time of his death. Gayheart now faces life as a widow with two daughters, while Depp's quiet generosity in Eric's final months is getting its moment in the spotlight.
Rebecca Gayheart was photographed this week carrying boxes out of Johnny Depp's Los Angeles home β and the contents tell a devastating story. The "Urban Legend" actress, 54, was seen toting a box clearly labeled "Eric Yearbooks Kids Photos" along with a guitar, the kind of personal artifact that hits different when you know the man who owned them is gone forever.
Eric Dane died on February 19, 2026, at just 53 years old after a courageous battle with ALS. The "Grey's Anatomy" and "Euphoria" actor had been living in one of Depp's homes above the Sunset Strip in his final months, with Johnny offering him a pay-what-you-can rent arrangement. "Eric had one less thing to worry about," an insider told Page Six. That's the kind of friendship you don't walk away from β and apparently, neither does Depp.
But here's where the story gets complicated: Gayheart filed for divorce from Dane in February 2018 after 14 years of marriage β and then withdrew that petition last year when his diagnosis became clear. They were separated for seven years but never actually finalized the split. That means at the moment of his death, she was still legally his wife. The box labeled "Kids Photos"? That's her daughters' childhood β Billie, who turned 16 just days after her father's death, and Georgia, now 14.
Following Dane's passing, his family announced he'd become a passionate advocate for ALS awareness and research during his journey. He also recorded a final message for his daughters on Netflix's "Famous Last Words" released after his death, telling them to "fight with every ounce of your being and with dignity." His posthumous memoir, "My Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments," drops November 3, 2026. Friends have set up a GoFundMe for his daughters.
Gayheart looked somber during the move, wearing green sweatpants, sneakers, a white top and blue jacket β practical clothes for the kind of grim task that no one should have to do. She's now left to sort through the remnants of a marriage that ended in separation but never in paperwork, raising two daughters who just lost their father at ages 16 and 14. Johnny Depp gave Eric Dane a place to die with dignity. Now it's up to Rebecca to pack up what remains.