Eric Dane and ex-girlfriend Priya Jain were on good terms prior to the actor’s death, Us Weekly can confirm.
“In the months leading up to Eric’s passing Priya and Eric reconnected their relationship as friends,” a source exclusively tells Us, noting that “it was more important for them to remain friends” following their split last summer.
Jain, 28, is now mourning the loss of the Grey’s Anatomy star, who died on Thursday, February 19, at the age of 53 following a battle with ALS.
“Priya didn’t think it would happen this quickly,” the insider says of Dane’s decline in health. (Dane went public in April 2025 with his ALS diagnosis and died 10 months later.)
The source adds that Jain “has so much love” for Dane in the wake of his death, noting that “he was such a special person.”
“She has a lot of love for his family,” the insider tells Us, as Jain “knows how hard this is for his daughters” Billie, 15, and Georgia, 14, and she “feels for them.”
On a personal level, Jain is “so sad and devastated” by the loss, the source shares, but “she’s grateful they exist to keep his memory alive.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Jain and Dane’s reps for comment.
Jain met Dane “through a mutual friend and dated for one year,” a source previously told Us in June 2025, and was “devastated” and “blindsided” by their sudden split. Around the same time, the Euphoria actor stepped out with Janell Shirtcliff for the Los Angeles premiere of his Prime Video show Countdown.
“They were together constantly. They had seen each other mostly every day,” the insider said of the Naked Lynx founder’s relationship with Dane. “He introduced her as his girlfriend. They loved each other and said, ‘I love you’ all the time.”
The insider added that despite their breakup, Jain wished him “all the best” as they went their separate ways.
Eric Dane. Martin BUREAU/AFP
Prior to his relationship with Jain, Dane was married to Rebecca Gayheart. The pair share daughters Billie and Georgia.
While Gayheart filed for divorce in 2018 after 14 years of marriage, she called off the legal separation in March 2025 prior to Dane going public about his health battle.
“We are best of friends. We are really close. We are great coparents,” Gayheart, 54, told E! News in April 2025 of her dynamic with Dane. “We really figured out the formula to staying a family and I think our kids are benefiting greatly from it and we are as well.”
Dane revealed in June 2025 that Gayheart was his rock after his ALS diagnosis. “We have managed to become better friends and better parents,” he said on Good Morning America. “And she is … probably my biggest champion and my most stalwart supporter. And I lean on her.”
Following a hard-fought battle with the disease, Dane’s family confirmed his death on Thursday.
“With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS,” they told Us in a statement. “He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world.”
The statement concluded: Throughout his journey with ALS, Eric became a passionate advocate for awareness and research, determined to make a difference for others facing the same fight. He will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered always. Eric adored his fans and is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he’s received. The family has asked for privacy as they navigate this impossible time.”
