Eric Dane’s youngest daughter, Georgia, had to save her father after he almost drowned.
The Grey’s Anatomy alum was on holiday in Antigua following his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis in 2025, but found himself unable to swim and had to be rescued from the water by Georgia and her friend.
Dane’s first call after he was safe was to his estranged wife, Rebecca Gayheart.
“Georgia hands me my phone,” Dane wrote in his upcoming posthumous memoir, “My Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments,” according to an excerpt obtained by People.
“‘I can’t swim, Rebecca,’ I said. ‘I can’t swim,'” he added.
“She bursts into tears and I cry with her. We cry together. Eventually the tears slow down to gasps, and when we both scream, Rebecca says, ‘I was afraid of this day. I knew he would come. I was dreading it.”
“The Last Ship” star opened up about the heartbreaking moment on “Good Morning America” in June 2025.
“When I jumped in the ocean that day and realized I couldn’t swim and generate enough power to get back to the boat. I thought, ‘Oh my God,'” he told Diane Sawyer.
“And I realized at that moment that I was no longer safe in the water.”
“She (Georgia) took me back to the boat,” Dane said, adding that he burst into tears, but assured that she was going back to snorkeling and having fun with her friend.
Dane died on February 19, less than a year after announcing his ALS diagnosis. He was 53 years old.
The “Euphoria” actor died of respiratory failure, according to his death certificate.
Dane and Gayheart, 55, married in Las Vegas in 2004.
They welcomed their daughters Billie and Georgia in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
The “Jawbreaker” actress filed for divorce from Dane in February 2018 after 14 years of marriage, but they never signed the papers. The former couple remained close and vacationed with their children.
Gayheart officially withdrew the petition following Dane’s diagnosis.
Last June, the Urban Legend star marked the first Father’s Day since the actor’s death with a heartbreaking message.
“I feel bad for my girls today,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories above photos of Dane with their daughters, Billie, 16, and Georgia, 14.
“This is a ‘first’ of many to come. I know Eric is watching over them every day. ❤️🩹,” she added.
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