Christina Applegate, the 54-year-old star of Dead To Me, has opened up in a candid new memoir, You With The Sad Eyes, about the profound challenges of living with multiple sclerosis (MS), revealing symptoms she had overlooked prior to her shock diagnosis in June 2021. The Emmy-winning actress described her initial pain as a strange weakness, “an I-have-no-strength kind of pain,” which she had dismissed, believing it to be minor or temporary. Over time, this pain evolved into the often excruciating, daily burden she faces now, affecting her mobility and leaving her physically exhausted.

MS, a chronic autoimmune disease, attacks the protective myelin sheath surrounding nerve fibers, causing inflammation and disrupting communication between the brain and the rest of the body. For Applegate, the early signs included subtle yet persistent issues, such as twitching in her toes, which she had mentioned to her chiropractor, only to receive a dismissive response. These early indicators, though minor at the time, were part of a larger constellation of symptoms that would ultimately reveal the serious progression of her condition. Applegate recalls receiving the life-changing diagnosis via a Zoom call on a Monday morning, a moment she described as one that “changed everything.”