Christina Applegate has revealed she’s been left bedridden by crippling pain amid her battle with multiple sclerosis.
The 54-year-old Dead to Me star, who was diagnosed in August 2021, has spoken candidly about the devastating effects of the degenerative disease.
In particular, she revealed the impact it has had on her 15-year-old daughter, Sadie, as she struggles to even take her to school and extracurricular activities.
“I want to take her; it’s my favourite thing to do,” she told People magazine. “It’s the only time we have together by ourselves.
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“I tell myself, ‘Just get her there safely and get home so you can get back into bed.’ And that’s what I do.”
Christina, who has been married to Dutch musician Martyn LeNoble since 2013, previously revealed her heartbreak for her daughter. She said she felt she was “losing the mum she had”.
“I see her look at me when I’m in bed and can’t quite move, or I wanna go say goodnight 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,” she said on her podcast MeSsy. She co-hosts the show with fellow actress and MS sufferer Jamie Lynn Sigler.
“Right now I can barely get to bathroom, it’s the worst, but that’s neither here nor there.”
Though physically she may not have the kind of freedom she once relished, Christina says her isolation has given her a newfound freedom. It has allowed her to reflect on her journey in a totally raw and honest light.
“My life isn’t wrapped up with a bow,” said the actress. “People’s lives, sorry for lack of a better term, f***ing suck sometimes. So I’m being as honest and raw as I possibly can.”
Embracing this new chapter, the star has penned a memoir – You with the Sad Eyes – out March 3.
In it, she covers everything from her turbulent upbringing in Hollywood, her early days as a teen star, abusive relationships and battles with breast cancer and MS.
“[It’s] about a little girl with sad eyes who ended up becoming Christina Applegate,” she said.
“And she still has those sad eyes. But she’s a stronger, different, resilient human being. And that’s really kind of my story.
Growing up, her mum Nancy Priddy battled heroin addiction. It was a challenging childhood to say the least, tainted by physical abuse and molestation.
“I think I had kind of the worst situation from three to seven, but there was stuff like that going on in all our homes,” she reflected.
“Single mums, men coming in and out, drugs. It’s always fun to see your mum crying on the floor and you not being taken care of.”
While not outwardly inspirational, Christina says she hopes that sharing her story can still be inspiring to some.
“We all have come from somewhere, some places more painful than others, and it’s what you do with it, I guess,” she said.
“This is not an inspirational book, by any means. But it can inspire.”
