Christina Applegate believes she lived with MS for years before being diagnosed

cnn
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Christina Applegate is part of a sisterhood she never wanted to be.

In a conversation on “Good Morning America” that aired Wednesday, the “Dead To Me” star was joined by her friend Jamie-Lynn Sigler to talk about living with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Both suffer from the autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. Applegate credited Selma Blair, who was diagnosed with MS in 2018 and had co-starred with Applegate in “The Sweetest Thing,” for encouraging her to see a doctor.

“She says, ‘You need to get tested for MS.’ I said, ‘No, really?'” Applegate recalled. “The odds, the two of us from the same movie, come on, that’s not going to be, that’s not happening. “If it wasn’t for her, it could have been a lot worse.”

Applegate first shared He was diagnosed with MS in August 2021. He said he now realizes he probably had it for years before his diagnosis.

The former “Married with Children” star found support in Sigler, who has lived with the disease for more than 20 years.

Now the couple is launching a podcast titled “Messy,” in which they promise real conversations about the messiness of life and living with MS.

“I’ve played a character named Christina for 40 years,” Applegate said. “I was doing a little act for everyone for so long. “I just thought it was easier to be light, funny, not make people uncomfortable and I don’t care anymore.”

Sigler is there to support her.

“After recording our first episode and listening to it, the first thing I did was call her. And I thought, ‘I’m so excited for people to meet Christina,'” she said. “I feel like I have a front-row seat, I know it’s hard and I know it’s hard to watch, but it’s like a really beautiful chapter for her. “I really believe it.”

The first episode of “Messy” will be out on March 19.