Christina Applegate Says Her ‘Legs Are Done’ Amid Multiple Sclerosis Battle

Christina Applegate attends the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association)

Christina Applegate says her “legs are done” in a new health update on her life with multiple sclerosis. The Dead to Me star opened up about her current painful relapse of symptoms in a new episode of her MeSsy podcast on Tuesday, April 2, titled “The Power of Now.”

“I’m in relapse right now, pretty bad,” she shared in the episode. Applegate co-hosts the podcast with Jamie-Lynn Sigler. Applegate explained her relapse symptoms to her co-host, saying that her legs are in intense pain.

This makes what should be simple tasks like walking to the bathroom and difficult endeavor for the actor, who also described feeling tingling sensations down the lower half of her body and eye movements that make sleep difficult to come by. Because of the difficulty to move, Applegate revealed she hasn’t showered in three weeks. She instead has been relying on alternative bathing methods.

“I haven’t slept for 24 hours because my eye is doing something weird, where every time I close my eye to go to sleep, my right eye starts to shift like this,” Applegate said.

In a heartbreaking admission, Applegate said she’s been experiencing a lack of assistance from her medical team during this relapse of symptoms, an issue she intends to address as quickly as possible.

Her legs are causing her the most grief currently. “My legs have never been this bad, so I don’t know what’s going on, like, no energy, legs are just done, like, can’t get circulation, I can’t get them to stop hurting,” Applegate shared.

Applegate was last seen in a surprise appearance at the 2024 Emmy Awards on Sunday, January 15. She walked with a cane onstage, with host Anthony Anderson escorting her to the podium. She received a standing ovation from the audience as she made her way downstage, a moment that brought Applegate to tears.

Applegate revealed her M.S. diagnosis in August 2021 and has since retired from acting.