Christina Applegate has opened up about the emotional toll her multiple sclerosis battle has taken on her daughter, Sadie.
The actress, 53, spoke candidly on the latest episode of her podcast MesSy, sharing how her 14-year-old has been deeply affected by her health struggles.
Applegate described heartbreaking moments at home, explaining how Sadie watches her on days when her body doesn’t cooperate.
“I see her look at me when I’m in bed and can’t quite move, or I wanna go say goodnight to her in her room, but I can’t quite get down the hallway for whatever reason that my legs aren’t working that day,” she said.
“Right now I can barely get to bathroom, it’s the worst, but that’s neither here nor there. It’s broken her.”
The Dead to Me star reflected on the life her daughter knew before her diagnosis in 2021.
“She only knew me as healthy, and a runner, and a Pelotoner and a dancer,” Applegate said, adding that Sadie initially tried to stay stoic when the disease changed everything.
“She didn’t know this. It was like losing the mom she had to this f–king thing. And the more she’s gotten older now, I think the more it’s hurting her.”
The actress also noted how the shift in their family life was made even harder by the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had just gone through COVID and no school and all this stuff and now mommy can’t do all the things that she used to be able to do and I see it in her eyes,” she admitted.
Still, Applegate expressed deep gratitude for her daughter’s support.
“When we’re out, she knows I’m having such a hard time because I have such anxiety about being out. And she’s always got my arm. She’s always trying to help me through and help me with my cane,” she shared, while laughing about Sadie’s playful side at home.
“She’s like, ‘Can you please go down and make my food cause you’re the only one who can make it?’”