Christina Applegate heartbreakingly admits she ‘doesn’t enjoy living’ amid MS battle
|Christina Applegate has shared a heartbreaking update with fans as she continues to battle multiple sclerosis.
The actress, 52, shared the news of her diagnosis in August 2021, revealing that she had found out she was living with the condition a few months before.
She revealed at the time that MS had severely affected her ability to film for the final season of Dead To Me, crediting co-star Linda Cardellini and showrunner Liz Feldman for making adjustments to her filming schedule to allow her to complete it.
Christina has continued to share candid updates of the good and bad days with the disease, however, she has now opened up about the “real depression” the condition has caused her.
Christina Applegate shared a heartbreaking update amid her battle with MS. Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
Speaking on her and Jamie-Lynn Sigler’s MeSsy podcast, Christina admitted: “I’m in a depression right now, which I don’t think I’ve felt that for years.
“Like a real, f**k-it-all depression where it’s kind of scaring me, too, a little bit because it feels really fatalistic.
“I’m trapped in, like, this darkness right now that I haven’t felt [in], like, I don’t even know how long, probably 20-something years.”
The episode, which was released on Tuesday, was actually recorded after Christina’s surprise appearance at the 2024 Emmy Awards in January, where she received a standing ovation from the crowd.
She admitted that despite the sweet response to her appearing on stage, she found it to be “the hardest day” of her life, which left her so exhausted that she had to spend the two days after it sleeping.
Christina heartbreakingly admitted: “This is being really honest … I don’t enjoy living. I don’t enjoy it. I don’t enjoy things anymore.”
The episode was recorded in January after Christina’s surprise appearance at the Emmy Awards. Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Jamie-Lynn, 43, who has also been living with MS for over 20 years, acknowledged the difficulties of living in a “disabled body”, but encouraged Christina to keep fighting.
She told her co-host: “Once we get you to this place where we’re accepting that this is how it’s going to be, maybe forever …[coping with MS] is not a reason enough for you to stop living because I sit here across from you, and you still make me laugh like nobody else can.
“You still make me smile. You make me feel loved. I can’t let you give up. I can’t. I need you to do it for me.”
Christina promised to get back in touch with her therapist to help work through her issues with depression, but admitted that she was scared of opening up again and letting her emotions run wild.
MS has affected Christina’s ability to walk among other issues. Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
She explained: “I’m so afraid for those floodgates to open and that I won’t be able to stop.”
Christina previously also revealed that MS had left her with 30 lesions on her brain as well as a series of uncomfortable side effects, such as struggling to walk or sleep, as well as needing to wear diapers as she found it difficult to reach the toilet in time.