Christina Applegate is using “humor” to cope with her multiple sclerosis (MS).
David Faustino’s Opinion
The actress told her Married… With Children brother, David Faustino (Bud Bundy), that “it’s extremely difficult” to manage the lifelong autoimmune condition, which she was diagnosed with in 2021. It can cause issues including muscle weakness, vision changes, and numbness.
David, 52, told Us Weekly, “It’s extremely difficult for me to understand having a debilitating disease. … I don’t know what that’s like. … only go from her experience and what she’s told me.”
“I admire her being strong in the face of this, even though it’s been a real blow. It’s been very hard for her, but she does keep her humor.”
The actor recalled that 54-year-old Christina, who is largely confined to her bedroom because of her MS, had a “dry, sarcastic sense of humor since the moment I met her” on Married… With Children.
And David said that “nothing has changed,” with Applegate still “extremely sarcastic, extremely dry.”
He added, “She gets through this with some humor, and that’s kind of her way that she moves through it.”
The entertainer noted he is “there as a support, as a person on her team that gives her as much love as I can.”
Keeping in Touch
David and Christina have kept in touch since Married… With Children wrapped in 1997 after 10 years, even more so since her MS diagnosis in 2021.
He said, “I do a lot of visits with her. A lot of texting, a lot of checking in. A lot of funny just crap that we talk about. And that’s all I can do, right? Give her my love.”
“We do have deep convos when we sit. But we also keep the laughter [going] as well.”
Going to the Hospital
In April, TMZ reported that Christina was “admitted” to a Los Angeles hospital in “late March” for an unknown reason.
Shortly after the article was published, Christina took to Instagram and said she is “getting stronger and better every day.”
In a statement, the Vacation star penned, “Thank you for the outpouring of love and well wishes. Health issues are a constant for me, but I’m a strong chick, and I’m getting stronger and better every day. I’m taking a moment to focus on my health, but I’ll be back with more to say soon enough.”
In March 2025, Christina revealed she ended up in hospital more than 30 times with “unimaginable” pain with her MS.
Speaking on her and 45-year-old actress-and-singer Jamie Lynn Sigler’s MeSsY podcast, the Applegate explained, “This is really important because for three years, since I was diagnosed, I’ve been in the hospital upwards of 30 times from throwing up, diarrhea, and pain that is unimaginable.”
“They’ve done every test known to man on me, put so much radiation into my body from CT scans to everything else.”