Christina Applegate Says She Was Determined to Finish ‘Dead to Me’ “On My Terms” Following MS Diagnosis

"I’m never going to accept this. I’m pissed.”

Christina Applegate wasn’t going to let her recent Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis stop her from finishing the final season of Netflix’s Dead to Me, but it wasn’t without its difficulties. In an interview with the New York Times published earlier this week, the actress opened up about getting diagnosed in the midst of filming — which ultimately led to a five-month hiatus — and striving to be honest with viewers and fans about the realities of her new normal.

“There was the sense of, ‘Well, let’s get her some medicine so she can get better,’” she told the publication of her original diagnosis. “And there is no better. But it was good for me. I needed to process my loss of my life, my loss of that part of me. So I needed that time.” She clarified, “Although it’s not like I came on the other side of it, like, ‘Woohoo, I’m totally fine. Acceptance? No. I’m never going to accept this. I’m pissed.”

Even with her frustrations, Applegate said she never wants to be dishonest about the impact MS has had on her body: “This is the first time anyone’s going to see me the way I am,” she said about promoting the show’s final season. “I put on 40 pounds. I can’t walk without a cane. I want people to know that I am very aware of all of that.”

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While the actress added that she wished she would have “paid attention” to warning signs years before her official diagnosis, she was determined to finish the show one way or another.

“I had an obligation to Liz and to Linda, to our story,” she said. “The powers that be were like, ‘Let’s just stop. We don’t need to finish it. Let’s put a few episodes together.’ I said, ‘No. We’re going to do it, but we’re going to do it on my terms.’”

Those terms included using a wheelchair when traveling to and from set and utilizing both cast and crew members during long days of work. When talking about her co-star and friend, Linda Cardellini, as a specific source of support, Applegate said the actress “was my champion, my warrior, my voice.”

Although Applegate said she realizes some viewers may focus on her condition when watching the final installment, she’s satisfied she had an opportunity to “say goodbye” to the characters one last time.

“I’m sure that people are going to be, like, ‘I can’t get past it,'” she said. “Fine, don’t get past it, then. But hopefully, people can get past it and just enjoy the ride and say goodbye to these two girls.”

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