Sometimes life delivers a blow so tragic no scriptwriter could ever dream it.
In 2021, Christina Applegate was enjoying something of a career renaissance, filming the third season of her hit Netflix series ‘Dead to Me’.
Applegate had first found stardom in the late 90s on a string of American sitcoms, and later winning an Emmy for her role as Rachel’s hilariously bitchy sister in ‘Friends’.
She went on to appear in the highly successful ‘Anchorman’ franchise and many of her other smaller film projects were all largely well-received by critics. However, it wasn’t until ‘Dead To Me’ first aired in 2018 that it seemed Applegate – then aged 46 – had finally found her speed.
30 million worldwide viewers watched the first season and critics lavished praise on the darkly comic series, with Applegate raking in a reported $325,000 per episode.
But all that came crashing down with a shocking and sudden diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the summer of 2021 – a brutally debilitating disease that leads to the gradual disabling of the central nervous system, and which Applegate has since described as a living ‘hell’.
In the summer of 2021, Applegate had a shocking and sudden diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) – a brutally debilitating disease that leads to the gradual disabling of the central nervous system, and which Applegate has since described as a living ‘hell’.
Filming was delayed for five months as she began intensive treatment.
But life on set quickly became difficult, with Applegate revealing in an interview last year that she tries not to watch the show back.
‘I don’t like seeing myself struggling,’ she told the Los Angeles Times.
Medications and increased inactivity also caused her to gain 40 pounds and left her worried that she ‘didn’t look like [herself]’ on screen.
‘I’m like, ‘Who is this person with 20 chins?’,’ she said.
The diagnosis must have felt like a particularly cruel irony for Applegate – now 52 – who was named after Andrew Wyeth’s famous painting of a young disabled woman lying in a field and titled ‘Christina’s World.’
But, despite finding the daily reality of her disease ‘hard to explain to people’, Applegate has been surprisingly open in sharing intimate details about the progression of her condition.
She has told how ‘it’s never a good day’ (‘you just have little sh*tty days’), that she now can’t go down the stairs unaided, struggles to shower herself and often feels ‘very lonely’.
This week, in a heart-wrenching podcast appearance, she talked of being consumed by a depression so bad that ‘it’s kind of scaring me’.
‘I don’t enjoy living. I don’t enjoy things anymore,’ she added.
Applegate has a committed team of live-in carers at her Hollywood home and relies on the support of her loving husband of over ten years, Martyn LeNoble – a Dutch musician with whom she shares their 13-year-old daughter, Sadie.
But while LeNoble has remained the picture of a devoted husband, insiders now say that Applegate privately fears ‘he would be better off without her’.
Applegate relies on the support of her loving husband of over ten years, Martyn LeNoble (pictured together in 2016). But while LeNoble has remained the picture of a devoted husband, insiders now say that Applegate privately fears ‘he would be better off without her’.
She has told how ‘it’s never a good day’ (‘you just have little sh*tty days’), that she now can’t go down the stairs unaided, struggles to shower herself and often feels ‘very lonely’. (Pictured with her family in 2022).
Indeed, Applegate worries that her MS has ‘undoubtedly taken a toll’ on their marriage – ‘particularly on their sex life’ – sources exclusively revealed to DailyMail.com.
‘MS causes loss of sexual satisfaction, libido and other issues that are physical that she will not be able to overcome,’ one insider explained.
It appears any fears about the state of her marriage are unfounded, however, with sources stressing: ‘[LeNoble] loves her so incredibly much and there is nothing that would make him walk away from her or their family.’
Nonetheless, Christina is said to also worry about her young daughter. ‘She feels like Sadie is having to take care of her when it should be the other way around,’ a source said.
‘Christina is dealing the best she can, and she knows she is a huge role model and inspiration and has so many people who love and support her. It is just hard being the one who is stuck in this position – knowing that it will only get worse.’
As for her career, insiders confirmed Applegate has ‘given up on the idea’ of acting.
‘She is so thankful for the unbelievable opportunities she has had in her life but remorseful for those she will never have again,’ they said.
‘One of the hardest parts for Christina is knowing that she will never truly be able to do what she loves anymore. [She feels] trapped in a body that is not able to do what her mind wants her to do.’
MS is an incurable condition, with symptoms including fatigue, brain fog, muscle stiffness and spasms, problems with balance and co-ordination, and sexual dysfunction.
Sources describe how Applegate is regularly in ‘a lot of physical pain’, as well as ‘always being tired’ and ‘always having to go to the bathroom’ – all of which make leaving home very difficult.
Literally born in Hollywood in 1971, Applegate began her acting career as a baby, appearing in television shows alongside her soap actress mother and in commercials at just 3 months old.
She came of age during the halcyon days of the 90s when a new class of actors including Johnny Depp, Keanu Reeves, Drew Barrymore, Wynona Ryder, Leonard DiCaprio, Uma Thurman and Angelina Jolie were all on the brink of super-stardom.
Applegate worries that her MS has ‘undoubtedly taken a toll’ on their marriage – ‘particularly on their sex life’ – sources exclusively revealed.
Sources describe how Applegate is regularly in ‘a lot of physical pain’, as well as ‘always being tired’ and ‘always having to go to the bathroom’ – all of which make leaving home very difficult. (Pictured: With Jennifer Aniston on set of ‘Friends’).
She was at the Viper Room nightclub the evening River Phoenix famously overdosed from heroin and died in 1993, and she dated Brad Pitt in 1989 when he was still considered an up and comer.
An original member of The Pussycat Dolls – which began as a burlesque dance troupe – Applegate performed alongside other original stars including Christina Aguilera and Carmen Electra, before leaving the group in 2003 after seven years to focus on acting.
Her big break came with a decade-long stint on the hit sitcom ‘Married… With Children’ playing as Kelly Bundy – a riotously promiscuous bleach-blonde bimbo.
In 2002 she bagged her ‘Friends’ role, before appearing on the first ‘Anchorman’ movie in 2004. She also enjoyed star billing in Tim Burton’s ‘Mars Attacks!’ and ‘The Sweetest Thing’.
In fact, such was the demand for her, Applegate actually turned down an offer to play Elle Woods in ‘Legally Blonde’ – a role that instead launched Reese Witherspoon’s career to great heights.
It’s a decision that she has since branded a ‘big f*****g mistake’.
After divorcing her first husband – actor Johnathon Schaech – in 2007, Applegate quietly began dating LeNoble in 2009, before welcoming their daughter in 2011 and marrying in 2013.
While focusing much of her time on motherhood, Applegate acted in a handful of titles such as ‘Bad Moms’ and gave her voice to several animated movies.
Later, after filming on ‘Dead To Me’ wrapped in 2021, Applegate largely disappeared from public life to focus on her MS treatment.
In January of this year, however, Applegate was greeted with a standing ovation as she made a surprise appearance at the Emmys to present an award. She became visibly emotional before joking with the crowd: ‘You’re totally shaming me, with disability, by standing up!’
‘If I wasn’t laughing, I’d be crying all the time,’ she later said.
However, insiders reveal that despite such good humor and positivity, Applegate grapples daily with fears about her condition, especially ‘knowing that it will only get worse.’
