Christina Applegate opens up on devastating impact debilitating MS diagnosis has had on family life
Christina Applegate has revealed the devastating impact her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis has had on her as a mum.
The 53-year-old actress, who shares daughter Sadie, 14, with husband Martyn LeNoble, has been living with the incurable condition since 2021.
She previously revealed that fellow screen star Selma Blair is the one who urged her to get checked for MS, after sharing her concern about a common symptom.
Applegate had already experienced a handful of other symptoms too, which all came to a head while she was filming the hit Netflix series Dead to Me.
Advert
Doctors then confirmed her suspicions and diagnosed the Married...with Children star with MS in 2021.
It is a condition which impacts the brain and spinal cord, causing a myriad of different symptoms - although it affects everyone differently.
Some of the most common symptoms include extreme fatigue, vision problems, numbness or tingling in different parts of the body, muscle cramps or spasms and memory issues.
Last year, Applegate launched her podcast MeSsy with fellow actress and MS sufferer Jamie-Lynn Sigler.
The pair 'get vulnerable about the curveballs that life can throw' on the show and discuss the good, the bad and the ugly parts of how they are both navigating life with the condition.
In the latest episode of MeSsy, the hosts were comparing notes about how they handle parenting while battling MS.
Applegate candidly told The Sopranos star Sigler: "In my situation, Sadie only knew me as healthy and a runner, and a Pelotoner and a dancer.
"So when this came about in 2021, she was like stoic about it. And now its...I see her look at me when I'm in bed and can't quite move.
"Or when I want to go say good night to her in her room, but I can't quite get down the hallway for whatever reason that my legs aren't working that day. It's broken her."
The Golden Globe nominee, from Los Angeles, said she can 'barely get to the bathroom' at the minute due to the impact MS is having on her mobility.
"It’s the worst, but that’s neither here nor there," Applegate continued. "[Sadie] didn't know this. It was like losing the mom she had to this f***ing thing.
"And the more she's gotten older now, I think the more it's hurting her."
Her and mother-of-two Sigler then agreed that their MS diagnosis has been 'a lot for [their children] to take on', especially as there is no cure for it.
Applegate said: "I was diagnosed in 2021, so we had just gone through Covid and no school and all this stuff - and now mommy can't do all the things that she used to be able to do.
"And I see it in her eyes. I see it. But you know what's really beautiful?
"When we're out, she knows I'm having such a hard time because I have such anxiety about being out. And she's always got my arm.
"She's always trying to help me through and help me with my cane and and all this stuff."
Although she can't do as much for her daughter as she once could, Applegate revealed that Sadie is who motivates her to keep pushing herself.
The mum added: "At home, she's like, 'Can you please go down and make my food because you're the only one who can make it?'.
"She's like, 'You're going down all the steps'. And I'm like, 'Sadie, I can't make it down the f***ing steps!' But I do it.
"I do it because I know that it's like...she's checking in to make sure, can she still take care of me?"
Earlier this month, Applegate told MeSsy podcast listeners that she had been left 'screaming' in pain after being hospitalised due to a kidney infection.
She also previously revealed that she rarely leaves the house these days, telling fans: "If people saw what my life was like on the daily, they wouldn't they wouldn't be able to do it. Because I can sometimes not do it."
Topics: Christina Applegate, Celebrity, Health, Parenting, Podcast
Olivia Burke