Janell Shirtcliff posts photos and tribute after Eric Dane’s death
janell shirtcliff offered a private look into her relationship with Eric Dane after the actor’s death on Feb. 19 at age 53 from ALS. In a series of social posts two days later, she shared candid images that captured quiet, affectionate moments between the pair and scenes including family interaction.
Janell Shirtcliff’s Instagram Story posts on Feb. 21
On Feb. 21, Janell Shirtcliff used Instagram Story posts to highlight a range of candid moments with Dane. Among the images was a black‑and‑white shot of him smiling while getting a tattoo on his left arm and a photo of him in a white T‑shirt and a tan cowboy hat posed with a horse. She also posted intimate PDA images: one in which he planted a kiss on the side of her head as they posed on a set of stairs and a selfie of him leaning down toward her shoulder.
The posts came from Janell in her capacity as a photographer; she has photographed stars such as Post Malone, Jenna Ortega and Dua Lipa, and she used that eye to curate the recent images she posted of Dane.
Family moment: a child directs an impromptu shoot with the Euphoria star
Janell’s post included a glimpse of Dane’s bond with one of her children. In a clip, the youngster held up a camera and directed an impromptu photo shoot with the Euphoria star, telling Dane, “I want you to look over there at mom, ” before instructing him to “smile. ” That exchange was presented alongside the more intimate couple photos Janell shared.
Public debut and the Los Angeles premiere of Countdown
The images followed a public appearance that helped mark the couple’s relationship: they seemingly debuted their romance in June, two months after Dane shared his ALS diagnosis. The pair arrived together at the Los Angeles premiere of his crime drama Countdown, where they walked the red carpet hand‑in‑hand and shared a laugh.
Marriage, estrangement and Dane’s final interview
Despite his courtship with Janell, Dane remained legally married to estranged wife Rebecca Gayheart. The two share daughters Billie, 15, and Georgia, 14, and had separated in 2017. In his final interview, given for the Feb. 20 episode of Famous Last Words with Brad Falchuck, Dane reflected on his feelings for Gayheart: “I will never, by the time anybody sees this, would have ever fallen in love with another woman as deeply as I fell in love with Rebecca, ” he said. “She’s the mother of my children, and the whole weight of thinking about it was so organic and fortuitous. ”
Earlier relationship timeline and the divorce filing
The couple have never fully explained how they first connected; Dane said in 2008 that the story is “probably one of the least interesting stories in the world, ” recalling, “It went basically like this: ‘You wanna go out?’ 'Yeah, sure. ' Ten months later, we were married. ” Less than one year after they began dating, they exchanged vows in Las Vegas. After Dane announced he was leaving the drama The Last Ship because of his battle with depression, Gayheart publicly showed support with a throwback Instagram post captioned, “Way back when I met my Monday man crush. ” When she filed for divorce she cited “irreconcilable differences” and sought spousal support as well as joint legal and physical custody of daughters Billie and Georgia.
In the days after Dane’s death, janell shirtcliff’s photos provided a private, visual record of moments the couple shared in public and at home, including family interaction and scenes from red‑carpet appearances.
