Christina Applegate Reveals Heartbreaking Toll of MS on Daughter After Four-Month Hospital Stay: 'It's Broken Her'
Christina Applegate has been open about her MS fight.
Oct. 7 2026, Published 7:10 p.m. ET
Christina Applegate debuted a new look on Instagram on September 21, after a recent four-month hospital stay, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Showing off her freshly dyed blonde hair and a peek at her shoulder, the 54-year-old thanked her L.A. stylist Dave Stanwell for "brightening up my cloudy day," telling her 1.2 million followers, "Love to you all out there."
A Fresh Look Amid Health Struggles
Applegate debuted a fresh blonde look after her hospital stay.
The Dead to Me actress has struggled with multiple sclerosis for years, revealing her diagnosis in 2021. The chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system has affected the Emmy nominee’s mobility and left her prone to infection.
"One of the worst side effects of the illness is the exhaustion," she’s said. "It feels as if I’ve been on a three-day-long sleepless bender." She revealed in 2025 that she’d been in the hospital "upwards of 30 times."
"They've done every test known to man on me, put so much radiation into my body from CT scans to everything else," the actress noted.
That isn’t her only health issue. Before her MS diagnosis, Applegate was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and underwent a double mastectomy. In 2017, she had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed to reduce the risk of a recurrence.
Applegate thanked stylist Dave Stanwell for brightening her day.
'I Hate It So Much'
The actress shared her health journey in her memoir, 'You With the Sad Eyes.'
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Though the star admits she sometimes feels sorry for herself, her real grief is for her daughter Sadie, 15, with husband Martyn LeNoble.
"It’s broken her," she lamented. "It was like losing the mom she had to this fking thing. And the more she’s gotten older, I think the more it’s hurting her."
"This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me," Applegate has said of MS. "I hate it so much."
The actress told her story in the memoir You With the Sad Eyes, which came out in March.
