Christina Applegate is speaking up about the toll her multiple sclerosis (MS) has taken, not just on her, but on her daughter, Sadie. In 2021, the Dead to Me star was diagnosed with MS, a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the brain and central nervous system. Now 53, Applegate shared that her daughter has struggled to process seeing her once-active mom lose control of her movement.
Speaking to co-host Jamie Lynn Sigler, 44, on their podcast MeSsy, Applegate explained: “In my situation, Sadie only knew me as healthy, and a runner, and a Pelotoner and a dancer, and she only knew that.“So then, when this came about in 2021, she was like stoic about it."
“And now, 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."
“Right now, I can barely get to the bathroom; it’s the worst, but that’s neither here nor there. It’s broken her."
“She didn’t know this. It was like losing the mom she had to this f****** thing. And the more she’s gotten older now, I think the more it’s hurting her."
Applegate shares Sadie with Dutch musician and Porno for Pyros bassist Martyn LeNoble, 56. She said her daughter does everything she can to help her mom cope with the daily challenges of MS.
She continued: “Also, 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.”
The Vacation star also expressed gratitude for Sadie’s support, particularly because she struggles with anxiety whenever she leaves the house.XXXX“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,” Applegate said.
“She’s always trying to help me through and help me with my cane and all this stuff. At home, she’s like, ‘Can you please go down and make my food cause 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****** steps.’ But I do it. I do it because I know that it’s like she’s like checking in to make sure, ‘Can she still take care of me?’”