Christina Applegate’s 13-Year-Old Daughter Discusses Impact of Mom’s MS Diagnosis

In a candid conversation on the MeSsy podcast, 13-year-old Sadie Grace LeNoble opened up about the challenges her family has faced since her mother, actress Christina Applegate, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Applegate, 52, best known for her roles in Dead to Me and Married… with Children, welcomed her daughter as a guest on the June 25 episode of the podcast she co-hosts with fellow actor Jamie-Lynn Sigler. The actress introduced Sadie as “my favorite guest we could possibly ever have.”

Sadie, Applegate’s only child with husband Martyn LeNoble, revealed it was her idea to appear on the podcast. She spoke openly about the impact of her mother’s condition, which Applegate publicly disclosed in 2021.

“When she got diagnosed, it kind of just felt like… not like everything was over, but it was hard seeing my mom lose a lot of the abilities she used to have in my childhood,” Sadie explained. She reminisced about happier times, saying, “When I was a kid, we would dance in her room for hours at a time.”

Applegate expressed feelings of guilt over her limitations due to MS, particularly on difficult days. “I don’t ever want you to feel that I’m not capable to be your protector, your mother,” she told Sadie. “I want to make you food. I want to bring it to you. I want to do all the things and I do when I can. And I feel incredibly guilty when I can’t.”

Despite the challenges, Sadie found a silver lining in her new role as a caregiver. “It’s also been nice being able to help her and support her,” she said. However, she humorously noted that her mother doesn’t always accept her assistance, particularly when it comes to wheelchair navigation at concerts.

“Every time we go to a concert, she always is like, ‘You cannot push my wheelchair, Sadie, you’re going to run into a wall,'” Sadie shared. “And I will beg. I’m just like, ‘Please, mom, let me push your wheelchair.'”

Applegate playfully defended her stance, citing safety concerns: “I just always get afraid that… if there was like a ramp that you would just let go because you thought it was funny!” She did, however, acknowledge her daughter’s skill, adding, “You are darn good at pushing the wheelchair.”