Famed actress Christina Applegate is speaking openly and bravely about multiple sclerosis in the year since her diagnosis and how she's been coping.
In August 2021, the Married With Children legend took to her official Twitter to announce the news, writing in part that it had been a "strange journey" for her so far. "But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition," she wrote. "It's been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some a**hole blocks it."
Now, the Dead to Me star spoke with The New York Times about filming the hit Netflix show amid her daily struggles with her new reality.
When the Anchorman star got the news during the filming of the third and final season of Dead To Me,where she plays the character Jen Harding, the show decided to take a 5-month hiatus from filming to give Christina some time to adjust. "There was the sense of, 'Well, let's get her some medicine so she can get better,'" she explained.
"And there is no better. But it was good for me. I needed to process my loss of my life, my loss of that part of me. So I needed that time."
Christina then candidly admits that she isn’t "going to accept this" and she's still "pissed" about it.
She then talked about feeling obligated to finish filming her part on Dead to Me, as there was some talk of shutting down production for good. She was adamant about finishing her performance on her "terms" and with the support from co-star and friend Linda Cardellini, whom called "my champion, my warrior, my voice."
This isn’t the first time Christina has been open and honest about the difficulties she’s faced with MS. On her 50th birthday, she sent out a very candid tweet, writing, “Yup. I turned 50 today. And I have MS. It’s been a hard one.”
She continued, “Sending so much love to all of you this day. Many are hurting today, and I am thinking of you. May we find that strength to lift our heads up. Mine currently is on my pillow. But I try.”
Christina has a history of being open with her health struggles even before MS. In 2008, she went public with her choice to have a double mastectomy after finding out she carried the BRCA1 gene. This is the same gene carried by Angelina Jolie, and also was the impetus for her own double mastectomy as well.