Christina Applegate is back home after reportedly spending nearly four months in a Los Angeles hospital.
The Dead to Me star, 54, was recently discharged after being admitted in late March. A source close to Applegate told People that she is “doing very well.”
The reason for the lengthy hospitalization has not been disclosed. Although Applegate has lived with multiple sclerosis since 2021, neither her representative nor a medical professional has said the hospital stay was caused by the disease.
Applegate has not yet personally confirmed that she is home or shared details about the treatment she received.
Applegate Told Fans She Was Getting Stronger
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Reports that Applegate had been hospitalized first emerged in April, when TMZ reported that she had entered a Los Angeles hospital in late March. Her representative declined to confirm the hospitalization or discuss her treatment, instead pointing to Applegate’s history of speaking candidly about her complicated health conditions through interviews, her podcast and her memoir.
Applegate addressed the concern on Instagram on April 20 without identifying her condition or indicating whether she remained in the hospital. “Thank you for the outpouring of love and well wishes,” she wrote beside a photograph of her memoir, You With the Sad Eyes, and a coffee cup.
“Health issues are a constant for me, but I’m a strong chick and I’m getting stronger and better every day.” She said she was taking time to focus on herself and her health but promised that she would eventually return with more to share. TMZ later reported that Applegate remained hospitalized until her recent discharge, placing the length of her stay at close to four months.
Jamie-Lynn Sigler Shared an Encouraging Update
Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who cohosts the MeSsy podcast with Applegate, offered an encouraging update in early May. “She’s doing better, she’s getting stronger, she’s doing well,” Sigler said during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live. “We love her.”
Sigler also told Good Morning America that she remained in contact with Applegate and that her friend was receiving the support she needed. The two actors launched MeSsy after connecting through their experiences with multiple sclerosis. Sigler was diagnosed at 20, while Applegate publicly revealed her diagnosis in August 2021.
The podcast has allowed them to discuss the physical symptoms of MS as well as the anger, grief, isolation and changes to personal identity that can accompany the disease.
David Faustino Visited Her During the Hospital Stay
David Faustino also remained in regular contact with Applegate while she was hospitalized. The actors played siblings Kelly and Bud Bundy throughout the 11-season run of Married… with Children. Faustino said in June that he had visited Applegate, exchanged messages with her and continued checking on her condition.
He described what she was experiencing as “very hard” but said she had retained the dry, sarcastic sense of humor that had defined their friendship for decades. “She keeps her humor,” Faustino told Us Weekly. “That’s kind of her way that she moves through it.”
She Has Described Severe Pain and Repeated Hospital Visits
Applegate revealed her MS diagnosis in August 2021 after experiencing worsening symptoms during production of the final season of Dead to Me. She has since described numbness, loss of balance, limited mobility, fatigue and severe pain. Applegate has also said gastrointestinal problems caused repeated hospital visits involving intense vomiting and diarrhea.
During a 2025 episode of MeSsy, she recorded from a hospital after developing severe pain that extended from her back into her side. Testing revealed infections in both kidneys, and she received intravenous antibiotics. That hospitalization was publicly connected to a specific diagnosis, unlike her recent stay.
Applegate has said MS now keeps her in bed for much of the day, although she continues trying to preserve important routines with her daughter, Sadie. She told People that driving the teenager to school remained one of her favorite activities because it gave them uninterrupted time together.
Applegate shares Sadie with her husband, musician Martyn LeNoble, and has repeatedly said that the effect of her illness on her daughter is among the most painful parts of living with MS.
Her Hospitalization Followed the Release of Her Memoir
Applegate entered the hospital only weeks after releasing You With the Sad Eyes on March 3. The memoir covers her childhood, early fame, difficult relationships, motherhood, acting career, breast cancer and the life-altering effects of her MS diagnosis.
Applegate drew from journals she had kept since her teenage years, preserving her younger self’s language rather than reshaping every memory through an adult perspective. She has said writing the book was not cathartic and did not offer a simple sense of closure.
Earlier in 2026, Applegate also launched Next in MS, an online platform featuring her reflections on the disease and resources intended to help others living with it feel less isolated.