Katherine Heigl has issued a statement mourning the loss of Eric Dane, her former Grey’s Anatomy co-star.

During the early years of the show, Katherine portrayed Izzy Stephens, while Eric portrayed Mark Sloan aka McSteamy.

If you did not see the news, the beloved actor passed away on February 19 at the age of 53 following a battle with ALS.

In her post, Katherine explained why she hesitated about posting anything, as she does not usually grieve publicly. However, she couldn’t stay silent on this particular passing.

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She wrote, “I debated this post for days. I have never been comfortable grieving publicly. I share my tears, my stories and my memories with those I’m closest to and more times than not I share them only with the heavens alone. But that silence can often look like a lack of care which I could not abide here.”

She then added a message to Rebecca, his wife, and their two daughters: “Rebecca, Billie, Georgia… There is so little, if in fact anything, one can say about a tragic loss like yours. All the ‘I’m sorries’ and ‘my prayers are with you’ ring a bit hollow in the midst of so much pain and grief. So I will say the only thing that has ever brought me peace when I’ve lost someone I love. It is Robert Frost’s poem ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’ of which I have tattooed on my body in my parent’s handwriting so I will never forget that the moment of gold was worth it.”

She then shared a quote from the poem: “Natures first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; but only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, so Dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.”

Katherine concluded with, “I will never forget Eric’s gold and I will forever be grateful I got to bask in it for even a brief moment in time. Thank you for sharing him with us. God Speed my old friend…here’s to your next great adventure.”

See every Grey’s star who has released a statement about his passing.