Christina Applegate Reveals Her MS Diagnosis Was Wrong, and the News Has Left Her With More Questions Than Answers
For five years, Christina Applegate has been one of Hollywood’s most visible and outspoken faces of multiple sclerosis. There’s just one major problem: Applegate never had MS. The actor took to her podcast, MeSsy, this week to reveal she had been misdiagnosed and does not, in fact, have multiple sclerosis. Applegate insists it isn’t good news, at least not in the traditional sense. The big reveal, she says, has brought her back to square one when it comes to her health.
Christina Applegate does not have multiple sclerosis
Learning she didn’t have an incurable neurological condition was not a happy moment for Christina Applegate. Opening up about the news on her podcast, she said she isn’t happy about it, noting that she still isn’t well and now doesn’t know why.
Applegate, 54, stressed that the change in diagnosis does not mean her health issues have been resolved. She continues to experience debilitating symptoms and requires a wheelchair to attend medical appointments because she can’t safely walk from the car to the office. She also said her symptoms have worsened over time.
While losing the diagnosis hasn’t changed her symptoms, it has changed the way she thinks about her health. She told listeners that she had come to rely on the diagnosis as an explanation for her alarming symptoms. Applegate added that “nothing magical happened” when she learned she had been misdiagnosed.
Her feelings are complicated by her advocacy
Applegate’s disappointment over the misdiagnosis isn’t just about her health. She revealed that the reversal feels especially painful because, in a way, it has also stripped her of her role as an advocate. Since going public, Applegate has become a passionate voice for the MS community.
She has described herself and co-host Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who has relapsing multiple sclerosis, as the poster children of the disease. Applegate said it feels strange because she worries she let everybody down after becoming such a prominent advocate. She’s far from alone in her experience, though.
The actor was joined by Dr. Marwa Kaisey, a neurologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, during the two-part episode. Kaisey acknowledged how difficult it can be to learn you’ve been misdiagnosed after years, but noted that it isn’t uncommon. Because there is no single test for MS, a diagnosis relies on a combination of tests and ruling out other conditions, which leaves room for error.
Christine Applegate’s March 2026 hospitalization
Christina Applegate was having a difficult year even before she learned she does not have the condition she thought she had been living with. In March, she and Sigler paused their podcast after Applegate’s health took a bad turn. She was hospitalized in March and wasn’t discharged until August. She opted not to share the reason for the hospitalization.
During the lengthy episode, Applegate discussed her raw emotions surrounding the original diagnosis, the misdiagnosis news, and where her health stands today. She didn’t share whether she and her doctors have a working theory about what might actually be behind her symptoms. For now, she has returned to podcasting but remains effectively retired from acting.
