Christina Applegate is detailing the “dangerous” and “scary” weight loss she’s experienced amid her battle with multiple sclerosis (MS) in her new memoir.
“Sometimes the weight bothered me more than the disease,” she writes in “You With the Sad Eyes,” per an excerpt published in the Guardian on Sunday. “I didn’t look in the mirror for a year.
“Then I was put on a clear‑liquid diet because of my stomach issues, and all of a sudden, everything just dropped off of me,” the “Married… With Children” alum, 54, continues. “Within seven months, all of it was gone, and I was down by 50 pounds or more. These days, my legs are tinier than they’ve ever been.”
Christina Applegate (seen here on the cover of her new memoir) is detailing the “dangerous” and “scary” weight loss she’s experienced amid her battle with multiple sclerosis. AP
Applegate (seen here in January 2023) writes that she “didn’t look in the mirror for a year” due to the weight she initially gained after her diagnosis. Getty Images for Critics Choice Association
Applegate, who was diagnosed with the debilitating autoimmune disease in 2021, goes on to explain how her MS battle gives her stomach problems that result in her dramatic loss of weight.
“The illness has given me serious stomach issues,” she shares in her memoir, due out Tuesday. “As I write this, there are tamales downstairs that are the best tamales you could ever have – I want to eat five of them right now, I’m so hungry – but I know if I do, I’ll probably end up in the ER again, as I have so many times recently.”
Although the “Anchorman” star has “managed to create a much healthier place” regarding her “relationship with food,” the MS has taken its toll – especially on her legs, which she describes as “scary-looking.”
The actress (seen here in January 2026) writes that she lost “50 pounds or more” because of the stomach problems she suffered from MS. christinaapplegate/Instagram
Applegate (pictured here in November 2022) explains how the MS has taken its toll in her new memoir. Getty Images for Netflix
“I have no muscles – just sticks,” Applegate writes. “It’s dangerous to be walking around with zero muscles on my body: it means my bones aren’t protected if I fall, and it scares me.”
“But there’s still that little voice in my head saying, ‘You’re really skinny. You have the legs you always wanted. Good for you,’” she adds. “This is the sickness. But she’s not going to win.”
Applegate revealed that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in August 2021.
She later opened up about when she learned she was battling MS during an appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” in December 2022.
The “Married… With Children” alum (pictured here in January 2020) revealed that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in August 2021. Getty Images for Critics Choice Association
Applegate (seen here with Jimmy Kimmel in February 2026) detailed when and how she learned she was battling MS in December 2022. Disney via Getty Images
“I didn’t know what was happening to me,” the actress, who was filming the final season of her Netflix show “Dead to Me” at the time of her diagnosis, explained.
“I couldn’t walk,” she continued. “They had to use a wheelchair to get me to the set. I was freaking out. Someone was like, ‘You need an MRI.’”
Applegate also acknowledged that she gained 40 pounds and had to start walking with a cane amid her early MS battle during an interview with the New York Times one month before her “The Kelly Clarkson Show” appearance.
“This is the first time anyone’s going to see me the way I am,” she told the outlet. “I’m never going to accept this. I’m pissed.”
Applegate (seen here in September 2019) gained 40 pounds and had to start walking with a cane amid her early MS battle. Getty Images for Backstage Creations
The “Anchorman” star (pictured here with her daughter, Sadie, in February 2023) has been hospitalized over 30 times since her 2021 diagnosis. Jim Ruymen/UPI / Shutterstock
More recently, the “Bad Moms” star revealed she’s been confined to her bed due to the ongoing pain she suffers as a symptom of her multiple sclerosis.
However, Applegate also revealed that she still tries to take her 15-year-old daughter, Sadie, to school despite the unimaginable pain. Applegate shares Sadie with her husband of 13 years, Martyn LeNoble.
“I want to take her; it’s my favorite thing to do,” she told People last month. “It’s the only time we have together by ourselves. I tell myself, ‘Just get her there safely and get home so you can get back into bed.’ And that’s what I do.”
“My life isn’t wrapped up with a bow,” the actress, who’s been hospitalized over 30 times since her 2021 diagnosis, added. “People’s lives, sorry for lack of a better term, f–king suck sometimes. So I’m being as honest and raw as I possibly can.”
Applegate (pictured here with her daughter in February 2023) still tries to take Sadie to school despite the unimaginable pain that has left her bedridden. Getty Images
Applegate (as seen here) received a standing ovation when she stepped out for the Emmy Awards in 2024 amid her MS battle. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Before her MS diagnosis five years ago, Applegate beat breast cancer. She also underwent a double mastectomy in 2008 and had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed to avoid ovarian cancer in 2017.
The “Samantha Who?” alum received a standing ovation when she stepped out for a rare public appearance at the Emmy Awards in 2024 amid her MS battle.
“Thank you so much. Oh my God,” she said through tears during the ceremony. “You’re totally shaming me with the disability by standing up. Body not by Ozempic.”