'Grey's Anatomy' Star Opens Up About Eric Dane's Death: 'I Was Just Sobbing'

Grey's Anatomy actress Chyler Leigh, who played Meredith Grey's younger sister, Lexie Grey, recently opened up about Eric Dane's death this past February and what her experience of grief looked like.

Dane passed away due to complications related to his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis. Dane had publicly shared news of his diagnosis just 10 months before his death.

When Dane passed, social media was flooded with touching tributes to the actor, including from many of Dane's co-stars. Among those names was fellow Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey, who played Derek Shepherd, as well as Jensen Ackles, who starred alongside Dane in the Prime Video show Countdown.

Leigh also released a statement about Dane's passing back in February, which said, among other things, "Eric had a heart of gold. His humor and, especially, his laugh was infectious. He was a deeply intelligent man who could carry a philosophical conversation for hours even while we were on set."

Now, Leigh has opened up to share a bit more about how the news of Dane's passing affected her and what her experience of grief has looked like over the last few months.

Per Us Weekly, Leigh shared, "It had been a while since I had connected with him, and then I got the news. Then, it just hit me. I was like, 'Oh my God, I can't believe this happened.'"

Leigh explained that it wasn't really until a few days later, when she was flying from Los Angeles to her home in Nashville, that the full weight of this loss truly hit her.

"All of a sudden, it just hit. I had to keep getting up and going to use the lavatory because I was just sobbing. I didn't know it was going to hit me that hard and especially that fast. It was definitely a grief, and now when I see the reels [of his past work] it's not like I'm over it, but I'm able to see past the absolute devastation of it and be able to appreciate even more so those incredible moments that we had together," she said.

Leigh's Grey's Anatomy character Lexie and Dane's character Mark Sloan had an on-again-off-again relationship throughout several seasons of Grey's, but they remained a fan-favorite couple on the show until their mutual exits, which saw both characters die as a result of a harrowing plane crash. Even now, years after those departures, fans express love for this couple.

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This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 9:31 PM.