Christina Applegate revealed that her battle with multiple sclerosis has “broken” her 14-year-old daughter, Sadie LeNoble.
On Tuesday’s episode of her podcast “MeSsy,” the Emmy-winning actor described how her illness often leaves her unable to move freely, something that is difficult for her daughter to witness.
“I see her look at me when I’m in bed and can’t quite move, or I wanna go say goodnight to her in her room, but I can’t quite get down the hallway for whatever reason that my legs aren’t working that day,” Applegate said. “Right now I can barely get to the bathroom, it’s the worst, but that’s neither here nor there. It’s broken her.”
Applegate, 53, was diagnosed with MS in 2021. The change, she said, was jarring for her daughter, who had only known her as “healthy, and a runner, and a Pelotoner, and a dancer.”
“So then when this came about, 2021, she was like stoic about it,” Applegate explained. “She didn’t know this. It was like losing the mom she had to this [expletive] thing. And the more she’s gotten older now, I think the more it’s hurting her.”
The diagnosis came at an already turbulent time, following the isolation and disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had just gone through COVID and no school and all this stuff and now mommy can’t do all the things that she used to be able to do and I see it in her eyes. I see it,” Applegate said.
Despite the strain, the “Dead to Me” star said she was grateful for Sadie’s support, noting that her daughter stays close when they are in public, helping her manage both physical challenges and social anxiety.
“But you know what’s really beautiful? When we’re out, she knows I’m having such a hard time because I have such anxiety about being out. And she’s always got my arm,” Applegate said. “She’s always trying to help me through and help me with my cane and all this stuff.”
At home, their bond remains strong and familiar.
“She’s like, ‘Can you please go down and make my food cause you’re the only one who can make it?'” Applegate added.
Since announcing her diagnosis in August 2021, Applegate has been outspoken about her health struggles through her podcast with Jamie-Lynn Sigler. Earlier this month, she shared that she had been hospitalized in Los Angeles, suffering “so much pain” from infections in both kidneys that she said she was “screaming.”
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
