Written By: N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe | Published : January 7, 2026 8:35 PM IST
Christina Applegate, who rose to fame for her iconic performance in Married With Children, as Kelly Bundy first opened up about her struggle with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in the year 2021. In a recent episode of her 'MeSsy' podcast, which was aired on January 6, Applegate gets overwhelmed and details her frustration and fear over a Multiple Sclerosis flare-up.
The 54-year-old actress, after reading a letter from a listener named Steven who suffers from Myasthenia Gravis (MG), an autoimmune disease that causes weakness in voluntary muscles get emotional while thinking about the letter she and her co-host Jamie-Lynn Sigler received.
In Steven's words, "[MG] has, in the past seven years, taken my soul piece by piece, day by day, hour by hour...While I'm beaten down, I'm not giving up, exploring new treatments and in the beginning stage of a CAR-T clinical trial that shows much promise. I'd love to trade my MG in for, say, dandruff or an ingrown toenail, if at all possible. Would love if you would consider doing an episode on myasthenia gravis patients or another rare syndrome without much public awareness. Anyway, thanks again for all the wonderful episodes. Truly love each and every one of you."
Commenting on the heartfelt letter, Applegate told Sigler, "I'm reading it and I'm trying not to start being a crybaby again with every single thing that I'm reading, because I'm getting very emotional because I'm really touched by the fact that we're all sitting in that space."
Echoing Steven's words, the 54-year-old then recalled a phase when she had experienced MS flare-up, a moment she described that felt like her own soul was being taken. Christina Applegate described, "Like yesterday, I was walking, kind of OK. Today, I was falling over, stumbling. I just feel like, is it taking me? Is it taking me day by day, piece by piece? I can't even read s*** like this without getting super highly triggered."
Since announcing her diagnosis, the actress has been candid about her struggle with Multiple Sclerosis. Applegate once told a leading media outlet about the symptoms she experiences that her legs sometimes give out, she said, "My symptoms had started in the early part of 2021, and it was literally just tingling on my toes By the time we started shooting in the summer of that same year, I was being brought to set in a wheelchair. Like, I couldn't walk that far."
Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune condition that affects the brain and spinal cord. According to the Cleveland Clinic, a person living with this autoimmune disorder will experience symptoms of the immune system mistakenly attacking the myelin cells. The National Institute of Health (NIH) notes that Multiple Sclerosis is characterized by inflammation, demyelination, gliosis and neuronal loss.
The US health agency claims that this condition manifest wide range of consequences such as vision impairment, numbness and tingling, focal weakness, bladder and bowel dysfunction and cognitive impairment. It states, "Early diagnosis, typically based on episodes separated in time and space, facilitates the prompt initiation of disease-modifying therapy aimed at reducing relapses and long-term disability, which is crucial for accurately diagnosing multiple sclerosis."
Follow TheHealthSite.com for all the latest health news and developments from around the world.
