The actress opens up to Robin Roberts about her grieving process.
Christina Applegate is candidly opening up about her battle with multiple sclerosis in a vulnerable new interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts.
The actress, who first announced her MS diagnosis in August 2021, told the anchor she’s spending most of her time at home lately, due to the difficulties of her condition, which makes public appearances especially challenging.
“I live kind of in hell,” Applegate said. “I’m not out a lot, so this is a little difficult, just for my system.”
But she added that she’s “grateful” for the “wonderful” support she’s received — including the standing ovation she got at this year’s Emmy Awards in January, when she made a surprise appearance to present the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy. Her mere presence made for an emotional moment, but Applegate made it even more memorable with her signature wit, telling the audience: “You’re totally shaming me, with disability, by standing up.”
And while her headline-grabbing appearance drew an avalanche of positivity online, Applegate told Roberts it was a bit of a blur for her.
“I actually kind of blacked out,” she remembered. “People said, ‘Oh, you were so funny,’ and I’m like, I don’t even know what I said. I don’t know what I was doing. I got so freaked out that I didn’t even know what was happening anymore.”
Still, she was able to take in the response, adding, “I felt really beloved, and it was really a beautiful thing.” But, of course, she finished the thought with more of that sense of humor we love so much: “Then, I’m just going to say this, that audience stood up for everybody.”
Applegate also talked with Roberts about how she’s faring with the reality of her diagnosis. Though it’s been more than a year and a half since she told the world about her MS, the actress says she’s still moving through her emotions about how the illness has changed her life. Asked by Roberts if she’s “still in a grieving process,” Applegate nodded and said, “I’m not putting a time stamp on it.”
“I’m never going to wake up and go, ‘This is awesome.’ I’m just going to tell you that. It’s just not going to happen,” she said. “I wake up and I’m reminded of it every day, so it’s not going to happen. But I might get to a place where I will function a little bit better. Right now I’m isolating, and that’s kind of how I’m dealing with it, by not going anywhere, because I don’t want to do it. It’s hard.”
Applegate was joined for her interview with Roberts by The Sopranos actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who’s also been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The duo is gearing up to launch a brand-new podcast called MeSsy (note the capital M and S in the title), in which they will “get vulnerable about the curveballs that life can throw” and “learn, laugh, and grow through their own raw and oftentimes hilarious conversations with each other, friends, co-stars, and the people that keep them going through the messiness of life.”
