Image source: Getty/Leon Bennett
Christina Applegate continues to shed light on her life with multiple sclerosis. In an appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson ShowOn December 8, the actress opened up about the warning signs that led to her final diagnosis, as well as what it was like filming “Dead to Me” while dealing with her symptoms. I’ve never done that in my life because I was diagnosed during filming,” she said. “I didn’t know what was happening to me.”
Applegate clarified that there are four different types of MS: “Not everyone is the same. Everyone has different symptoms. Everyone has different experiences with them. Every day is different.” However, for her, the condition initially presented a challenge with walking, to the point where she had to use a wheelchair to get around the set of the Netflix series. Applegate, with her signature sense of humor, asked Clarkson, “Can I say it sucked balls?”
Applegate previously spoke to about her experience in a November interview with The New York Times ahead of the final, third season of Dead to Me, which released over a year after her diagnosis was first publicly announced. “This is the first time anyone has seen me for who I am,” Applegate said. “I gained 40 pounds; I can’t walk without a cane. I want people to know that I’m aware of all of this.”
Applegate said she first felt something was wrong while filming the first season. Over the next few years, some of those early symptoms, including tingling and numbness, progressed until she was diagnosed in the summer of 2021 while filming season three. Production was delayed by five months, but Applegate insisted on resuming filming, saying she had an “obligation” to creator Liz Feldman, her co-star Linda Cardellini, and her story.
Applegate shared her diagnosis in a brief statement shortly thereafter in August 2021 Twitter. “A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. It’s been a strange journey. But I’ve had such support from people that I know they have this disease too,” Applegate said at the time, adding, “It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road goes on. Unless some ass blocks them.”
Looking back, Applegate said the production hiatus was less about improving and more about coping. “There was a feeling, ‘Well, let’s get her some medicine to make her feel better,'” she told the Times. “And there is no better one. But it was good for me. I had to process my loss of my life, my loss of this part of me. So I needed that time.”
When filming resumed, the autoimmune disease presented notable challenges. Applegate’s work hours were reduced, blockages changed, and an occasional sound engineer, who also happens to be her boyfriend, would help her keep her legs up. The season’s storyline also deals with illness, which was tough: “When Linda and I were shooting those scenes, it was overwhelming at times.”
Applegate acknowledged that some viewers may not be able to watch the season without being distracted by their condition. To which she said, “Fine, don’t get over it.” Applegate added, “But hopefully people can get over it and just enjoy the ride and say goodbye to these two girls.”
As for her own journey, Applegate candidly said, “It’s not like I got off the other side like, ‘Woohoo, I’m totally fine’ … acceptance? no I will never accept that. I’m pissed off.”
Hello friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. It’s been a strange journey. But I’ve had enough support from people that I know who also has this disease. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, there is a long way to go. Unless some asshole blocks it.
— Christina Applegate (@1capplegate) August 10, 2021
As one of my friends with MS said, “We wake up and take the necessary action”. And I do. So now I’m asking for privacy. As I go through this thing Thank you XO
— Christina Applegate (@1capplegate) August 10, 2021
multiple sclerosis or MS, is a chronic disease where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the central nervous system, thereby interfering with transmission between the brain and body. There is four identified types of MSand according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, almost a million people in the United States live with the disease, and most are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50. Unfortunately, there is currently no known cure.
Selma Blair, who Applegate collaborated with in 2002’s The Sweetest Thing, also has MS. She revealed her diagnosis in 2018 and did an interview with Good Morning America to shed light on the realities of living with the disease. After experiencing symptoms including exhaustion, Blair said she was relieved to finally get answers. “I cried. I was in tears,” she said. “They weren’t tears of panic — they were tears of knowing I was now having to give in to a body that was losing control.”