Christina Applegate’s ‘Angel’ Husband Helped Her Battle Cancer, MS & Embrace Her Changing Body

Sep 05, 2025 by apost team

Christina Applegate has entertained the world for a long time, but her acting career may have ended sooner than she wanted it to. In 2021, Applegate was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The diagnosis came while she was shooting the final season of the dark comedy "Dead to Me" and proved to be a big blow to the actress. She took to social media to announce the result to her fans in August of the same year. 

She wrote: "Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some a**h*l* blocks it."

The "Bad Moms" star disclosed that she had ignored the telling signs a few years prior. She recalled being clumsy while shooting a dance scene and observed that her tennis skills were not as good as they had been. However, the TV personality thought she only needed to work harder. 

That was not Applegate's first encounter with a medical condition. She had a double mastectomy in 2008 after being diagnosed with breast cancer. The actress also removed her fallopian tubes and ovaries in 2017 to prevent a resurgence. 

Meanwhile, Applegate's announcement opened a platform for many to share their pain with her and comfort her. Selma Blair, who also has MS, became supportive of Applegate since her diagnosis, and the duo often pokes fun at themselves online. 

Nevertheless, the disease has taken its toll on Applegate, especially her body. Thankfully, she has her husband, Martyn LeNoble, to help her through her sickness. Read on to learn more about Applegate, her illness, and how her husband has been instrumental in her road to recovery.

Despite being dismayed with her Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis, Applegate was tough as she had always been when confronted with bad news. While she has always dealt with pain and trauma by throwing herself into her acting work, it was challenging to do that this time as her multiple sclerosis made it difficult for her to work. She also implored the public for "privacy" as she goes through her illness. 

Although Applegate insisted on completing the last season of "Dead to Me," she did it with lots of assistance. The "Jesse" star first took five months off work for treatment and to digest the situation. She returned to using a wheelchair but completed shooting. Some scenes included her opening doors so she could lean on them, and a crew member holding her legs up away from the cameras so they wouldn't give way. 

Speaking of the crew, Applegate said: "They were incredible." During Variety's 2023 TV FYC Fest award in June 2023, she disclosed that "Dead to Me" may be her last work as an actress. Applegate said at the event:

"Thank you so much for being supportive and understanding as I journey through this new part of my life, not knowing if I'm going to continue to act anymore."

She continued: "I don't know if I can. I'd love to; I do miss it. I miss it so much." Despite Applegate's inability to act like she used to, she is not leaving the entertainment scene any time soon. The actress revealed she is considering venturing into other areas, including production. She noted that she would be "doing a s*** ton of voice-overs to make some cash to make sure that my daughter's fed and we're homed."

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Multiple sclerosis seemingly hasn't affected Applegate's ability to laugh and make jokes, but it initially affected her mind after taking a toll on her body. She told the Los Angeles Times in an interview published on Feb. 7, 2023, that she found it difficult to watch "Dead to Me" Season 3. Applegate told the outlet: 

"I don't like seeing myself struggling. Also, I gained 40 pounds because of inactivity and medications, and I didn't look like myself, and I didn't feel like myself."

Applegate also revealed that when she started watching the third season of "Dead to Me," she watched it alone and sometimes stopped when it became too painful to continue. However, she continued after a mental address to herself. Applegate recalled:

"At some point I was able to distance myself from my own ego, and realize what a beautiful piece of television it was."

She continued: "All the scenes I wasn't in were so much fun to see and experience for the very first time." Meanwhile, the 51-year-old thought co-star Linda Cardellini and show creator Liz Feldman were wonderful gifts. She gushed over Cardellini:

"I cry when I talk about Linda because I love her so much."

She stated: "The next person who gets to work with her, I hope they realize how incredibly lucky they are." Applegate spoke of Feldman in glowing terms, noting that the top executive producer is:

"Jen and Judy (the two lead characters in 'Dead to Me') combined into a human, in the most perfect and beautiful way possible."

For Applegate, "Dead to Me" was perfect for her retirement if she never got to act again. It was, however, poignant because the 2023 SAG Awards may have been her last as an actress. 

At the time, she revealed that she was looking forward to the awards. "It's my last awards show as an actor probably, so it's kind of a big deal," she shared. In May 2023, the "Married… with Children" actress spoke with Vanity Fair about the potential future of her disease:

"This is a progressive disease. I don't know if I'm going to get worse."

She also disclosed a fear that arose following her harrowing diagnosis:

"With the disease of MS, it's never a good day. You just have little sh***y days. People are like, 'Well, why don't you take more showers?' Well, because getting in the shower is frightening. You can fall, you can slip, your legs can buckle. Especially because I have a glass shower. It's frightening to me to get in there."

Applegate talked more about the things she "took for granted," like going down the stairs and carrying things. "I can still drive my car short distances," she affirmed. "I can bring up food to my kid. Up, never down." She also uses a cane and wheelchair for assistance. The actress said that people have offered suggestions that could help her potentially feel better, but she admitted to occasionally indulging in self-pity. She explained: "I'd rather just lie here and cry or do whatever I need to do right now to process this."

However, after she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she spoke with Variety in a seemingly optimistic tone:

"Now my life is a different story. People are going to see me for the first time as a disabled person, and it's very difficult. So, for me, two years ago would have been so much better! But maybe this time it's more poignant. I don't know."

Amid the struggles Applegate has been experiencing, she has her husband, LeNoble, with her every step of the way. After her marriage and eventual divorce from actor and screenwriter Johnathon Schaech in 2007, Applegate married LeNoble in 2013. However, she knew LeNoble way before they married. She told PEOPLE Magazine in 2009 that the Dutch musician had been in her life for 13 years as a friend, and she confessed that their relationship had progressed over time. After dating for two years, they got engaged in 2010 and tied the knot in 2013 in a private ceremony. 

LeNoble has been very supportive of Applegate in her career and her health condition. When Applegate was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, which resulted in her double mastectomy and the removal of her fallopian tubes, her then-boyfriend served as her rock. Applegate said at the time: "I'm very grateful to Martyn for coming along at a time that he did because he's been my rock through all of this," she continued:

"He gave me something to really want to live for and something to smile about."

LeNoble also made an appearance when Applegate received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, along with their only child, Sadie. Speaking about her parenting style at the time, Applegate told PEOPLE Magazine in a separate interview that she would infuse her mother's parenting style with hers. "I'll take from what my mother did, which was way hippie and like, 'Do what you wanna do,' and bring some things that I know from watching my friends raise their kids," she revealed. "An amalgamation of sorts."

Applegate told Women's Health Magazine in 2013 that she attributed her strength to LeNoble's presence in her life during a difficult period of her life. She admitted: 

"I don't think I would have been able to get through any of it without him."

Despite growing into the limelight, Applegate admitted that she's "shy" and doesn't like everyone's eyes on her.  She told the publication that when she goes to a party, she ends up staying home with LeNoble for a large part of it. "If I go to a party, I'm uncomfortable. I'd rather just stay home, watch an old Katharine Hepburn movie, put a fire in the fireplace, and hang out with Martyn."

In a 2019 interview with PEOPLE Magazine, Applegate described LeNoble as her "angel," who loves her "from head to toe." She also called getting a Malibu beach house the "best thing I've ever done for myself." Since publicly dealing with her breast cancer, Applegate found a gratifying "feeling of purpose." She reflected: "I used to be really shy but I started to come into my own in my late 20s and early 30s," Applegate continued: "Now I'm not afraid to speak up in a room full of people and be a part of the conversation."

At the 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards, Applegate received thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the audience when she surprised them by presenting the Best Comedy Supporting Actress of the night. She even managed to joke about herself after getting a standing ovation. "Thank you so much!" a visibly emotional Applegate told the audience before joking:

"You're totally shaming me, with disability, by standing up."

Are you a fan of Christina Applegate? What can you say about her love and adoration for her husband, Martyn LeNoble? Do you know someone who has gone through the same thing as her? Let us know, and pass this on to your family, friends, and other loved ones out there!