Christina Applegate has broken her silence following reports that she was hospitalized amid her battle with multiple sclerosis (MS).
“Thank you for the outpouring of love and well-wishes,” Applegate, 54, wrote via Instagram on Monday, April 20. “Health issues are a constant for me, but I’m a strong chick and I’m getting stronger and better every day.”
In her statement, the actress shared a photo from a backyard patio with a copy of her book and a coffee mug with the words “Kissy Kissy.”
“I’m taking a moment to focus on my health,” Applegate added, “but I’ll be back with more to say soon enough.”
Christina Applegate Details Recent MS Flare-Up: ‘Is It Taking Me?’
TMZ reported on Thursday, April 16, that the former Married… With Children actress had been admitted to the hospital in late March. It was not immediately known whether her reported hospitalization was related to her MS.
A spokesperson for the actress told Us Weekly at the time, “I have no comment whether she is in the hospital or what her medical treatments are.”
“She’s had a long history of complicated medical conditions that she has been refreshingly open about, as evidenced in her memoir and on her podcast,” her rep added.
Applegate’s “MeSsy” podcast cohost, Jamie Lynn Sigler — who has lived with MS since 2002 — previously announced on March 31 that their show would take a “short break” while both hosts focused on their book launches. (Sigler’s book And So It Is: A Memoir of Acceptance and Hope releases on May 5 while Applegate’s memoir, You With the Sad Eyes, was published in March.)
The Anchorman actress went public with her MS diagnosis in August 2021. (Per the Mayo Clinic, MS develops due to a deterioration of protective coverings of the nerves. There is no cure for MS, and it causes numbness, mobility challenges and weakness.)
“A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS,” she announced via X on August 10, 2021. “It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some a**hole blocks it.”
She went on, “As one of my friends that has MS said, ‘We wake up and take the indicated action’. And that’s what I do. So now I ask for privacy. As I go through this thing. Thank you xo.”
Applegate subsequently stepped away from screen acting while documenting her experience with MS on the “MeSsy” podcast. She has often spoken candidly about her health, including telling “Wild Card With Rachel Martin” in March that she thinks about her death “every day.”
“It’s looming,” the actress admitted. “I mean, it looms for all of us.”
Applegate has already purchased funeral plots for herself and two others to ensure her family is prepared for the future.
Christina Applegate Says Daughter Sadie Misses Who She Was Before MS
“For people who have a disease like this, you never know, you know?” she explained. “I bought my plots already, OK? I bought them. … There’s going to be three of us there. But I did. My friend and I are going to go take a picnic there. It’s really pretty where it is.”
The Emmy Award winner is the mom of 15-year-old daughter Sadie Grace LeNoble from her marriage to Porno for Pyros bassist Martyn LeNoble. (Christina and Martyn tied the knot in February 2013. She was previously married to Blue Ridge actor Johnathon Schaech from 2001 to 2007.)
