On Tuesday, Oct. 20, Christina Applegate and her co-host, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, released two consecutive episodes of their podcast, where the actresses openly discuss their individual experiences living with multiple sclerosis.
During her return to the podcast, Applegate, 54, became emotional as she revealed that she had taken a break to process unexpected news from her doctor: she does not actually have MS.
“She came into my room and said, ‘Congratulations, you don’t have MS,’ ” Applegate recalled through tears. “I was, like, not happy at all. Everybody else was so happy.”
Despite discovering that she had been misdiagnosed, Applegate explained that the news did nothing to ease her debilitating symptoms.
“You don’t get misdiagnosed and then all of the sudden I’m better,” Applegate continued. “I haven’t gotten better, Jamie! If anything, I’ve gotten worse. So I’m back at square one where I don’t know what’s going on with me. And that’s going to be an online investigation that my doctors are going to be getting into just to find out what has been going on since 2021, why did this happen?”
In Part II of the podcast, Christina Applegate became emotional once again as she opened up about the emotional toll of her diagnosis.
“I’ve gone through a great depression because of it. But I lost everything. I lost my job. I lost — I’m sorry. What do you say to someone who’s been living with this for six years — God, I’m so sorry — because it stopped my life. I still have to use wheelchairs when I go to the doctor’s office. I can’t walk from the car to the room. I’m still in this. Nothing magical happened when she said, ‘You don’t have MS.’ Nothing magical happened.”
The Dead to Me actress also opened up about feeling uncertain about her place in the MS community, particularly after connecting with and supporting others who had received the same diagnosis.
“It’s weird because I feel like I let everybody down,” Applegate shared. “It’s this weird feeling because I became this — you and I, the poster children for MS. And everything I was doing. I had a reason. I had a f—ing reason as to why my day sucked every day. And now I don’t have a reason and it’s very unnerving and it’s very confusing for me.”
Christina Applegate said she remains in a “state of shock” over the misdiagnosis, describing the experience as a “mindf—.”
The Emmy-winning actress explained that she stepped away from the podcast to “process” the news while also dealing with “some health stuff.”
Despite everything, Applegate said she sees her health journey as “the same game with a different name.”
The Emmy Award-winning actress last appeared on the podcast in March.
On March 31, Jamie-Lynn Sigler announced that the pair would be taking a brief break from MeSsy. Shortly afterward, reports emerged that Applegate had been hospitalized due to complications related to her multiple sclerosis. The podcast returned on April 21, with Sigler recording episodes on her own over the following months and welcoming special guests.
Applegate was initially diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the progressive disease damages myelin, the protective covering surrounding nerves in the central nervous system. Symptoms can include muscle weakness, vision changes, numbness, memory loss and gastrointestinal problems.
The actress first responded to reports of her hospitalization on Instagram in April, shortly after releasing her memoir, You With the Sad Eyes.
At the time, she thanked fans for their support, adding, “Health issues are a constant for me, but I’m a strong chick and I’m getting stronger and better every day.”
“I’m taking a moment to focus on my health, but I’ll be back with more to say soon enough,” she said.
