Christina Applegate has 30 lesions on her brain amid painful MS battle: ‘It sucks’

Erin Keller
·3 min read
Christina Applegate has 30 lesions on her brain amid painful MS battle.
Christina Applegate has 30 lesions on her brain amid painful MS battle.
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Christina Applegate continues to be brutally honest about her battle with multiple sclerosis.

The 52-year-old “Dead to Me” star revealed on the “Armchair Expert” podcast with co-hosts Dax Shepard and Monica Padman that she is in constant pain thanks to the autoimmune disorder.

“I have 30 lesions on my brain,” Applegate claimed in Monday’s episode. “My biggest one is behind my right eye, so my right eye hurts a lot.”

Christina Applegate attends the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on Jan. 15, 2023. Getty Images for Critics Choice Association
Christina Applegate attends the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on Jan. 15, 2023. Getty Images for Critics Choice Association

The “Married … With Children” alum also shared that sometimes “my hand starts to go weird and then I’ll get a seizure-y feeling sometimes in my brain.”

“It sucks,” the mother of one added. “I hate it so much. I’m so mad about it.”

Applegate has been outspoken about her MS journey since she was diagnosed in 2021, revealing that she even spotted one symptom of the disease seven years prior.

Actors from “Married … With Children” Applegate (from left), Katey Sagal, Ed O’Neill and David Faustino pose at the ceremony that honored Sagal with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Corbis via Getty Images
Actors from “Married … With Children” Applegate (from left), Katey Sagal, Ed O’Neill and David Faustino pose at the ceremony that honored Sagal with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Corbis via Getty Images

However, Applegate now admits she wasn’t as transparent about her 2008 breast cancer diagnosis, telling Shepard and Padman that she was “lying my a– off” during that time.

“Everything I was saying was a freaking lie,” she recalled on the podcast. “It was me trying to convince myself of something, and I think that did no service to anyone.”

While Applegate said she is glad her story helped raise “millions of dollars” for breast cancer prevention, she admitted that she was really “crying every night” at home during her treatments.

Applegate and her daughter, Sadie Grace LeNoble, at the 75th Emmy Awards on Jan. 15 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Applegate and her daughter, Sadie Grace LeNoble, at the 75th Emmy Awards on Jan. 15 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

“I wish that I had said that,” said Applegate, who underwent a double mastectomy after her cancer diagnosis. “I didn’t like my boobies. I still don’t like my boobies. It’s horrible.”

Earlier this month, the “Hall Pass” star doubled down on the fact that she has not used a weight loss drug like Ozempic to lose the weight she gained after her diagnosis.

She was hospitalized “many times” for her symptoms and medical professionals didn’t know “what was wrong” at the time.

The cast of “Married … With Children” in 1994. Getty Images
The cast of “Married … With Children” in 1994. Getty Images

“But we’re pretty sure my stomach and my intestines are not very good friends. It causes me intense pain and vomiting,” Applegate told People magazine.

“I gained 45 pounds when I was diagnosed, from steroids and lack of mobility. It’s just a body that doesn’t feel right. And I’ve lost 30-something,” she continued.

“People are like, ‘What have you been doing?’ And I’m like, ‘Vomiting.’ Not Ozempic. Barfing.”