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's wife Rebecca Gayheart is opening up about her final memories with him before his untimely death last month at 53.
Gayheart, 54, looked back on a touching moment with the late star — who battled amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) before his death — as he tried to find a way to continue communicating even as the disease robbed him of his ability to speak.
She told Variety that Dane, in his last weeks, was involved with a project by the company ElevenLabs that was designed to restore his voice.
The technology was used to create a computerized version of Dane's speaking voice that was crafted by using previously made recordings of his voice.
Gayheart — who said her family is 'still in a state of shock' over Dane's death — said he pursued the experimental technology not just to communicate in daily life, but also so that he would be able to leave a final message to their daughters, 16-year-old Billie and 14-year-old Georgia.
The Urban Legends actress — who recently after her father's death — said that her husband 'was really excited about it, because he was losing his voice, and it was becoming more difficult for him to communicate each and every day. So it became sort of urgent.'
Eric Dane's widow Rebecca Gayheart, 54, reflected on one of his final moments that left her in tears in a new interview with Variety. She recounted his attempts to replicate his voice as he lost the ability to speak due to ALS before his death on February 19 at 53; pictured together in 2015 in LA
Weeks before Dane's death, he was able to hear the version of his voice that the AI company had created, and Gayheart recalled how emotional it made both of them to hear him be able to speak flawlessly again.
'He was waiting anxiously to hear it, and when we got it from ElevenLabs it was a really big moment. It was a powerful moment,' Gayheart said.
'We played it, and Eric became visibly emotional,' she continued. 'And when I heard it, I cried. I think everyone in the room did.'
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The 54-year-old widow is also listed as the beneficiary of Dane's GoFundMe page, which raised $476,786 of a $500,000 goal to help 'provide stability during this incredibly difficult time and in the future for Eric's wonderful daughters'
Had Gayheart and the Actor Award winner - who was cremated last Friday - never legally separated between 2018-2025, they would've been married for 21 straight years (pictured in 2014)
However, Dane had been dating photographer Janell Shirtcliff (R, pictured June 18) since 2022 while the Jawbreaker alum publicly kissed Hard Rock Cafe co-founder Peter Morton, 78, at E Baldi in Beverly Hills on December 3
Heartbreakingly, this Tuesday will mark their daughter Billie's sweet 16 birthday and they're also parents of 14-year-old daughter Georgia (pictured in 2022)
In Netflix's new documentary Famous Last Words secretly taped last November, Dane told his children four things he learned from the incurable degenerative neurological disorder
The San Francisco-born actor instructed his daughters to cherish every moment, fall in love or find your passion, choose your friends wisely and fight until your last breath (pictured July 24)
Dane continued: 'I hope I've demonstrated that you can face anything. You can face the end of your days. You can face hell with dignity. Fight, girls, and hold your heads high'
The Countdown star concluded his role as the closeted real estate agent Cal Jacobs in the eight-episode third season of Euphoria, which premieres April 12 on HBO Max
'Those days, pun intended, were heaven. I want to tell you four things I've learned from this disease, and I hope you don't just listen to me. I hope you'll hear me.'
