Christina Applegate Gets Candid About Her Health Amid MS Battle

Christina Applegate is opening up about her health, sharing an update on her life with multiple sclerosis (MS). She reflected on the challenges the condition presents and how she navigates the journey that has tested her both physically and emotionally.

Years after sharing her MS diagnosis, Applegate is giving an update on her condition and what life is like for her as of late. The 54-year-old actress explained that most of her days are spent in bed due to the aches and pains brought on by her condition, per People.

However, she makes it a point to take her daughter, 15-year-old Sadie, to school, which is the only time they can spend together by themselves. “I want to take her. It’s my favorite thing to do. It’s the only time we have together by ourselves,” she noted.

The simplest activities can be challenging for a person dealing with MS, yet Applegate focuses on getting Sadie to school safely and making it home to rest.

She has been honest about her struggles since her diagnosis, saying, “People’s lives, sorry for the lack of a better term, f-cking suck sometimes. So I’m being as honest and raw as I possibly can.”

In an interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Applegate shared a coping mechanism she devised whenever she feels pain. She prefaced by saying that it isn’t meant to be “derogatory to any of the people,” before sharing the names.

Applegate then said her right hand is named Barbara, her left hand is Stanley, her right knee is Meghan Markle, and her left knee is Tootie, named after a character from the sitcom “The Facts of Life.” When Kimmel asked whether she talks to her body parts, the actress said yes, sharing that it helps to do so.

“When they get weird, we yell at them and say, ‘Hey, man! Stop it!'” That seems to help with Applegate’s condition, as she explains, “Because it’s a brain disorder, so it kinda stops it. It’s weird,” she exclaimed, adding that she came up with the technique on her own because she’s “freaking brilliant.”

In August 2021, Applegate posted on social media to share that she had been diagnosed with MS. Multiple sclerosis is a central nervous system autoimmune condition that affects the patient’s brain and spinal cord. Per the Mayo Clinic, some of its symptoms include fatigue, lack of coordination, weakness, and trouble walking, among others.

At that time, Applegate was filming for the third season of Netflix’s “Dead to Me,” which was paused in order for her to begin treatment. She finished filming the season, which was the show’s last.

In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2023, Applegate talked about her future in acting and acknowledged “Dead to Me” might have been her last acting stint. “I can’t even imagine going to set right now. This is a progressive disease. I don’t know if I’m going to get worse,” the actress said.

In 2024, Applegate launched her new podcast “MeSsy” with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who also is also battling MS. The two women have supported each other throughout their journeys and have become close friends. “She’s the only person who really knows me. I can talk about anything with her,” Applegate says of Sigler.

In one of the episodes, Applegate detailed her struggles with the disease, describing the challenges she has faced since her diagnosis.

She shared about not being able to pick up her phone or open bottles, as the disease has affected her hands. Getting out of bed and standing was also a struggle due to the pain in her feet. “I lay in bed screaming. Like the sharp pains, the ache, that squeezing,” she described.

Applegate is baring it all in her new memoir, “You With the Sad Eyes,” a tell-all book that will touch on the different stages of the actress’ life, including her troubled childhood years, her rise to stardom, becoming a mother, and dealing with breast cancer and MS.

“We all have come from somewhere, some places more painful than others, and it’s what you do with it, I guess,” Applegate said, adding that her memoir wasn’t written to be an inspirational book, “but it can inspire.”

“You With the Sad Eyes” will arrive in stores on March 3.