Christina Applegate got candid about her body — and her “bush.”
While noting that she and Jamie-Lynn Sigler are a duo, Applegate, 52, added that she’s the “Simon to my Garfunkel.”
“Which is what my bush looks like at this point,” Applegate joked on the Tuesday, July 2, episode of her “Messy” podcast, referring to Art Garfunkel’s famous hairdo. “Shave when your stomach is as big as mine. Because you have to lift it up and then get in … you know what I mean? You’re one-handing and you’re trying to stand and you’re falling over in the shower. I know people with MS can relate to this. You can’t get in there, get your leg up and then move your big belly up to see it.”
Sigler, 43, interjected to add, “You have to sit on the floor. You gotta literally sit on the floor of your shower and contort yourself in strange ways.”
Applegate and Sigler revealed their battles with multiple sclerosis in August 2021 and October 2016, respectively. The pair have since started their podcast, where they candidly discuss the ups and downs of living with MS.
During a June episode that was recorded earlier this year, Applegate opened up about her mental health. “I don’t enjoy living,” Applegate said. “I don’t enjoy it. I don’t enjoy things anymore.”
Applegate’s comments drew public concern, but she later clarified that she’s “good.”
“I was talking about some dark stuff I was thinking and feeling … this is our safe place to get those things out because when we hold things in, we give them power,” she explained during a separate June episode. “I also think there’s so much shame that people feel when they’re going through mental health issues. It’s a moment. It’s a thought. It’s a feeling.”
While Applegate noted that she’s “not sitting here on suicide watch,” she admitted to sometimes having “dark thoughts” due to her illness.
“I dare anyone to be diagnosed with MS or any chronic illness that has taken who you were prior to that moment and go, ‘This is great,’” she said. “You have moments of feeling like, ‘This is tiring and I don’t want to do this,’ but you do it. By saying this s–t out loud it releases the pressure in the balloon, man.”
Amid Applegate’s battle with MS, her daughter, Sadie, was recently diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. While the 13-year-old opened up about her struggle during an episode of the podcast in June, Applegate admitted she felt “very guilty” for not understanding what was happening initially.
“I just didn’t see it at home, babe. At home you were fine. But it’s kind of like us,” Applegate noted, referring to Sigler. “We get out in the world, and the stresses and the anxiety of the world bring upon our symptoms much worse than they would be if we were in the safety and the coolness of our own homes.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.