Sometimes life deals a blow so tragic that no screenwriter could dream of it.
In 2021, Christina Applegate was enjoying a career renaissance of sorts, filming the third season of her hit Netflix series ‘Dead to Me.’
Applegate had first achieved stardom in the late ’90s on a series of American sitcoms and then won an Emmy for her role as Rachel’s hilariously evil sister on ‘Friends.’
He then appeared in the hit ‘Anchorman’ franchise and many of his other smaller film projects were largely well received by critics. However, it wasn’t until ‘Dead To Me’ first aired in 2018 that it seemed Applegate, then 46, had finally found his speed.
30 million viewers worldwide watched the first season and critics praised the dark comic series, with Applegate grossing $325,000 per episode.
But all that came crashing down with a sudden and shocking diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the summer of 2021, a brutally debilitating disease that leads to gradual deactivation of the central nervous system and which Applegate has since described as a way of life. . hell’.
In the summer of 2021, Applegate received a shocking and sudden diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), a brutally debilitating disease that leads to gradual deactivation of the central nervous system and which Applegate has since described as a living “hell.”
Filming was delayed five months because intensive treatment began.
But life on set quickly became difficult, and Applegate revealed in an interview last year that she tries not to watch the show again.
“I don’t like to see myself fighting,” he told the Los Angeles Times.
The 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 wonder, ‘Who is this person with 20 chins?'” he said.
The diagnosis must have seemed a particularly cruel irony to Applegate, now 52, who was named after Andrew Wyeth’s famous painting of a disabled young woman lying in a field and titled ‘Christina’s World’.
But, despite finding the daily reality of her illness “hard to explain to people,” Applegate has been surprisingly open in sharing intimate details about the progression of her illness.
She has said that it is “never a good day” (“you just have shitty little days”), that she now can’t go down the stairs without help, has trouble showering and often feels “very lonely.”
This week, in a heartbreaking podcast appearance, she spoke of being consumed by depression so severe that “it scares me a little.”
‘I don’t enjoy life. “I don’t enjoy things anymore,” he added.
Applegate has a committed team of live-in caregivers in her Hollywood home and is supported by her loving husband of over ten years, Martyn LeNoble, a Dutch musician with whom she shares her 13-year-old daughter, Sadie.
But while LeNoble remains the picture of a devoted husband, insiders now say Applegate privately fears he “would be better off without her.”
Applegate is supported by her loving husband of over ten years, Martyn LeNoble (pictured together in 2016). But while LeNoble remains the picture of a devoted husband, insiders now say Applegate privately fears that he “would be better off without her.”
She has said that it is “never a good day” (“you just have shitty little days”), that she now can’t go down the stairs without help, has trouble showering and often feels “very lonely.” (Pictured of her with her family in 2022).
In fact, Applegate is concerned that her MS has “certainly taken a toll” on her marriage, “particularly her sex life”, sources revealed exclusively to DailyMail.com.
“MS causes loss of sexual satisfaction, libido and other physical problems that she will not be able to overcome,” a source explained.
However, it appears that any fears about the state of their marriage are unfounded, with sources emphasizing, “(LeNoble) loves her incredibly and there is nothing that will make him walk away from her or her family.”
However, Christina is said to also worry about her little daughter. “She feels like Sadie has to take care of her when it should be the other way around,” a source said.
‘Christina is doing the best she can and knows that she is a great role model and inspiration and that she has many people who love and support her. It’s just hard to be the one stuck in this situation, knowing it’s only going to get worse.’
As for her career, insiders confirmed that Applegate has “given up on the idea” of acting.
“She is very grateful for the incredible opportunities she has had in her life, but regretful for those she will never have again,” they said.
‘One of the hardest parts for Christina is knowing that she will never be able to do what she loves again. She (she feels) trapped in a body that is not capable of doing what her mind wants it to do.’
MS is an incurable condition, with symptoms including fatigue, brain fog, muscle stiffness and spasms, balance and coordination problems, and sexual dysfunction.
Sources describe how Applegate regularly suffers from “a lot of physical pain,” as well as “always being tired” and “always having to go to the bathroom,” all of which makes leaving the house very difficult.
Born literally in Hollywood in 1971, Applegate began her acting career as a baby, appearing on television shows alongside her soap opera actress mother and in commercials at just 3 months old.
He came of age during the halcyon days of the ’90s, when a new breed of actors, including Johnny Depp, Keanu Reeves, Drew Barrymore, Wynona Ryder, Leonard DiCaprio, Uma Thurman and Angelina Jolie, were on the brink of stardom.
Applegate is concerned that her MS has “certainly taken a toll” on her marriage, “particularly her sex life,” sources exclusively revealed.
Sources describe how Applegate regularly suffers from “a lot of physical pain,” as well as “always being tired” and “always having to go to the bathroom,” all of which makes leaving the house very difficult. (In the photo: with Jennifer Aniston on the set of ‘Friends’).
She was at the Viper Room nightclub the night River Phoenix famously overdosed on 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 group, 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 comedy ‘Married… With Children’ playing Kelly Bundy, a wildly promiscuous blonde bimbo.
In 2002 he landed his role in ‘Friends’, before appearing in the first ‘Anchorman’ film in 2004. He also enjoyed starring in ‘Mars Attacks!’ by Tim Burton. and ‘The Sweetest Thing’.
In fact, such was the demand for her that Applegate even 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 he has since called a “big fucking 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.
Although she focused much of her time on motherhood, Applegate acted in a handful of titles such as ‘Bad Moms’ and provided her voice in several animated films.
Later, after filming ‘Dead To Me’ in 2021, Applegate largely disappeared from public life to focus on her MS treatment.
However, in January of this year, Applegate was greeted with a standing ovation when she made a surprise appearance at the Emmys to present an award. She became visibly emotional before joking to the crowd: ‘You’re totally embarrassing me, disabled, by standing up!’
“If I wasn’t laughing, I’d be crying all the time,” she later said.
However, inside sources reveal that despite that good humor and positivity, Applegate struggles daily with fears about her condition, especially “knowing it will only get worse.”
