Christina Applegate is opening up about her multiple sclerosis diagnosis like never before and revealed how it's not only affecting her, but her daughter, Sadie too.
The 52-year-old star detailed her struggles to People magazine in an eye-opening interview with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who was diagnosed with MS 23 years ago.
During their emotional conversation, Christina expressed her heartbreak over her teen "losing her mom".
"My daughter’s had to see the loss of her mom," she said. "In the way that I was a mom with her. Dancing with her every day. Picking her up from school every day. Working at her school, working in the library. Being present, out of the house, out of my bed. She doesn’t see those things anymore.
"If she comes in my room and sees I'm laying on my side, she knows she can't ask me to do anything. And that breaks me. Because I love doing stuff for my kid. I love making her food and bringing it to her, but I just can’t sometimes. But I try. I try."
Jamie - who has become a close friend of Christina's - is also a mom, but said the difference is that her boys, Beau, 10, and Jack, six, have only ever known her with the condition.
Christina said it crushes her not to be able to care for Sadie the way she used to.
"It's heartbreaking when you have to say to them, 'I can't.' It's like the worst feeling in the world as a mother. You're supposed to be their protector in life. When you have to say, 'I can't,' it rips your soul apart."
She then wiped tears away and added: "I’m sorry. I freak out about it every day."
The actresses’ diagnosis came just before the production of the final season of Dead to Me in 2021 and she's described it as "living in hell".
Christina has said she's had to make adjustments to her life, including relying on others to help care for Sadie.
She told Vanity Fair of her current living situation: “I have my friend who lives here during the week, and she helps me take care of Sadie. And then on the weekend I have a caretaker."
Christina's future in acting may be questionable, but she has an exciting new venture with Jamie as they launch their new podcast in which they'll share their MS journey candidly.
MeSsy will debut on March 19.
"It's horrible," Christina added of the pain she feels when she wakes up. "So of course first thing in the morning, I'm real pissed off about it all. But I don’t want to be like this always. And I know I won't, because I have my hero here [pointing to Jamie].
"I know I’ll live a long enough life," she added with a catch to her voice. "To experience my kid and the things she's going to do. And I need to be here, so I've got to fight. I got to fight."
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