Christina Applegate Reveals Initial MS Diagnosis Was Incorrect

Christina Applegate shared a stunning revelation on her podcast on Tuesday: since 2021, she has been misdiagnosed with MS.

In a two-part installment of MeSsy with co-host Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Applegate explained how new technology led to the recent discovery. Rather than bringing a sense of relief, however, the 54-year-old actress says the news left her devastated.

“This may come as great news, but to me, I’m back at square one. It’s hard to say that [my doctor] came into my room and she said, ‘Congratulations, you don’t have MS,” Applegate said.

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“I was not happy at all,” she continued. “Everybody else was so happy. “You don’t get misdiagnosed and then all of the sudden I’m better. I haven’t gotten better. If anything, I’ve gotten worse in some ways. So I’m back at square one, that I don’t know what’s going on with me.”

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Applegate said she still experiences “every symptom of someone with MS. Every single one,” but acknowledged the prevalence of misdiagnoses. “There’s a pretty damn high number of misdiagnoses with MS,” she noted. “It’s clear they’re finding something different.”

She also said the misdiagnosis has left her struggling with a sense of guilt after becoming a public face of MS. “It’s weird because I feel like I let everybody down. It’s this weird feeling because I became this — you and I, the poster children for MS,” she said. “Everything that I was doing — I had a reason. I had a fucking reason as to why my day sucked every day. And now I don’t have a reason and it’s very unnerving and it’s really confusing for me.”

“I’ve gone through a great depression because of it,” she added. “But, you know, I lost everything. I lost my job. God, I’m so sorry, I get really emotional because it stopped my life. I still have to use wheelchairs when I go to the doctor’s office. I can’t walk from the car to the room. I mean, I’m still in this. Nothing magical happened when she said, ‘You don’t have MS.’ Nothing magical happened.”

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Due to her health issues, Applegate retired from acting in 2022.

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_Originally reported by [Consequence](https://consequence.net/2026/10/christina-applegate-misdiagnosed-with-ms/)._