Highlights
- Christina Applegate’s Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis has drastically altered her life.
- She must protect her compromised immune system and avoid overwhelming stimulation to her nervous system.
- Applegate has had to step back from acting for the time being.
Married… With Children star Christina Applegate may have an acting career spanning decades, an array of accolades, a $25 million net worth, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t had her fair share of struggles.
Back in 2022, the Dead to Me alumna made headlines when she announced her devastating Multiple Sclerosis (MS) diagnosis to the world. “A few months ago, I was diagnosed with MS,’ she wrote on Twitter at the time. “It’s been a strange journey… It’s been a tough road. But, as we all know, the road keeps going.”
Fast forward a year, and it seems the Married… With Children star’s struggles have only intensified, forcing her to retreat into an ultra-private, almost solitary life.
Christina Applegate’s MS Diagnosis Drastically Altered Her Life
Christina Applegate, known for her starring role in the 90s sitcom Married… with Children and the recently concluded black comedy drama Dead to Me, has been grappling with a harrowing health battle since 2022 when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis after experiencing an array of strange neurological symptoms.
Speaking to Vanity Fair in May 2023, Applegate delved into the gritty reality of her diagnosis, giving fans a glimpse into how drastically and permanently the disease had altered her life.
“With the disease of MS, it’s never a good day. You just have little sh***y days,” she said. “People are like, “Well, why don’t you take more showers?” Well, because getting in the shower is frightening. You can fall, you can slip, your legs can buckle. Especially because I have a glass shower. It’s frightening to me to get in there.”
“There are just certain things that people take for granted in their lives that I took for granted,” she continued. “Going down the stairs, carrying things—you can’t do that anymore. It f***ing sucks. I can still drive my car short distances. I can bring up food to my kid. Up, never down.”
Does Christina Applegate Have To Isolate Herself From People Due To Her MS Diagnosis?
Christina Applegate’s MS diagnosis hasn’t just interfered with her day-to-day life, it’s also forced her to lead a drastically more private, somewhat isolated life. Speaking to Vanity Fair, the Samantha Who? star revealed the tragic reason she’s had to cut down on socializing.
“I actually don’t want to be around a lot of people because I’m immunocompromised,” she said. “I have my friend who lives here during the week and she helps me take care of [my 12-year-old daughter] Sadie. And then on the weekend, I have a caretaker. I also don’t want a lot of stimulation of the nervous system because it can be a little bit too much for me. I like to keep it as quiet and as mellow as possible.”
But Applegate’s retreat from social interactions isn’t just a health precaution. As it turns out, social situations are no longer as enjoyable for the 51-year-old as they once were. “It’s exhausting. Imagine just being in a crowd of people and how loud that is,” she explained. “It’s like 5,000 times louder for anyone who has lesions on their brains.”
The Dead to Me star might also be avoiding social situations to steer clear of unsolicited advice on dealing with her diagnosis.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Why don’t you see if this works? Why don’t you go do this?’ And I’m like, because I’d rather just lie in my bed and be alone and watch TV, to be honest with everybody,” she said. ‘”Why don’t you get up and exercise? Why don’t you get on the treadmill for five minutes?” It’s like, why don’t you f**k off? I’d rather just lie here and cry or do whatever I need to do right now to process this.”
Christina Applegate Had To Step Back From Acting After Her MS Diagnosis
Besides retreating to the confines of her home, Christina Applegate may remain absent from the silver screen for quite some time. “Right now, I couldn’t imagine getting up at 5 a.m. and spending 12 to 14 hours on a set; I don’t have that in me at this moment,” she shared with the Los Angeles Times in February 2022.
Speaking to Variety in 2022, Applegate admitted that she was still grappling with her diagnosis, leaving little room to dive into scripts and acting gigs. “It’s about finding what I’m capable of doing,” she said. “I’m so new in this right now. It takes time to kind of figure out this disease, and figure out what’s bringing on symptoms. I’m just a newbie to all of this. So I’m trying to figure it out — and I’m also in mourning for the person who I was.”
That said, the Dead to Me star hasn’t completely ruled out a return to Hollywood, albeit under very specific conditions. “I have to find a place that’s as loving as my [Dead to Me] set was, where they won’t think I’m a diva by saying, ‘Hey, I can only work five hours.’ That’s trying to find a place that will allow me to do that if I’m not the star — because I’m not doing that again,” she admitted to Variety. “There’s no way I could do the work that I just came off again. I mean, it was so hard.”
Nevertheless, despite the ongoing struggles, Applegate’s life away from the limelight hasn’t been without its rewards. “Right now, I’m enjoying being a mother. I love being here for [my daughter] 100% all the time — to take her to school, to pick her up from school, to be here for her homework, to make her dinner, to be here when she needs me,” she shared with Variety in 2022. “That’s kind of what I missed out on for awhile. And she’s very happy to have me here.”
Source: NewsFinale
