" By the clip we started shooting [ Dead to Me ] in the summertime of that same year , I was being brought to set in a wheelchair . Like , I could n’t walk that far . "
Christina Applegatewill always be one of my favorite actors. From her iconic TV roles inMarried… with Childrento her recent Emmy-nominated turn as Jen Harding inDead to Me, Christina always knows how to deliver a knockout performance.
Recently, Christina has also been very candid about living with multiple sclerosis, which she was officially diagnosed with in 2021 whilefilming the final season ofDead to Me.
Since the release of the show’s final season, Christina earned multiple awards nominations,attended red carpets, got astar on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and most recently received astanding ovationat the 2023Emmy Awardswhere she presented the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
And now, Christina sat down alongsideThe Sopranosstar Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who also has multiple sclerosis, for acandid interview with Robin Roberts. This marked the first time the two actors have discussed their health journeys at length.
Speaking about her initial diagnosis, Christina said her symptoms started in early 2021, and it was “just tingling on [her] toes.” She added, “And by the time we started shooting [Dead to Me] in the summer of that same year, I was being brought to set in a wheelchair. Like, I couldn’t walk that far.”
According to the Mayo Clinic , multiple sclerosis " attacks the protective sheath ( myelin ) that cover nerve fibers and causes communication problem between your mentality and the rest of your body . Eventually , the disease can cause lasting wrong or deterioration of the nerve fibre . "
Signs and symptoms of MS " vary wide between patients and depend on the locating and severeness of mettle fiber damage in the cardinal skittish organization . “According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society , there are also multiple types of MS , with " four disease grade " being place .
Actor Selma Blair, who was diagnosis with MS in 2019 and starred with Christina inThe Sweetest Thingin 2002, was the one who encouraged Christina to get tested for MS. “She knew. If not for her, it could have been way worse,” Christina told Robin.
Now, Christina said she believes she may have had MS for “as long as seven years” before her official diagnosis. For a while she shrugged off the symptoms as “being tired.”
“They call it the invisible disease. It can be very lonely because it’s hard to explain to people. I’m in excruciating pain, but I’m just used to it now,” Christina said, adding that living with MS is “kind of hell.”
Speaking openly about having to be hospitalized for her MS symptoms, Christinatold People in a new interview, “They don’t know what’s wrong, but we’re pretty sure my stomach and my intestines are not very good friends. It causes me intense pain and vomiting. I gained 45 lbs. when I was diagnosed, from steroids and lack of mobility. It’s just a body that doesn’t feel right.”
Now at this stage of her diagnosis, Christina has learned to lean on Jamie-Lynn and others who understand what it’s like living with MS. The duo werereportedlyput in touch by their mutual friend Lance Bass in 2021 after Christina was diagnosed.
“[Jamie-Lynn] keeps me going because…I’m flipping the bird all day long at this thing and I’m angry. I’m really, really pissed,” Christina began. “She’s like, ‘OK, I have you, and you are going to be OK. Like, you’re going to be OK.’ And if not for her…I really honestly don’t know.”
In arecent interview with People, Jamie-Lynn said of her friendship with Christina, “We’re in two very different places with MS, but we help each other. Christina opened me up.”
After calling her MS diagnosis “devastating,” Christina openly discussed how she’s dealing with it today, saying she’s still “real pissed off about it all,” but she calls Jamie-Lynn her “hero” in all of this.
The couple have nowstarted a podcast togethercalledMeSsywhere they sing about " the curveballs that living can give … theirs just happens to be MS , " per the show ’s prescribed logarithm cable .
Previously , Christina saidDead to Mewill likely beher last on - television camera acting projection , due to the requirement of filming . She expressed interest in doing voice performing and more that would n’t require her to be on solidifying for such foresightful hours .
speak about the podcast , Christina said in herinterviewwith Robin , " I ’ve been playing a character holler Christina for 40 years , who I want everybody to mean I was because it ’s easier . But this is , it ’s kind of my coming out political party . Like , this is … the person I ’ve been this whole metre . "
Christina added, “I know I’ll live a long enough life…to experience my kid and the things she’s going to do. And I need to be here, so I’ve got to fight. I got to fight.” ❤️
You can check out Christina and Jamie-Lynn’s full interviews with both Robin Roberts and Peoplehereandhere.
