Christina Applegate is no stranger to being candid with her fans, but her latest podcast episode took vulnerability to a whole new level.
The Dead to Me actress recorded a raw and emotional installment of her “MeSsy” podcast this week straight from a hospital bed in Los Angeles, revealing that she was admitted due to excruciating, unexplained pain that left her “screaming.”
Applegate, 53, shared that the health scare began on her flight home from a trip to Europe where she had been visiting family. Instead of heading home after landing, she went directly to the hospital, desperate for answers.
“I’m staying here because I want answers. I want every test that you can possibly think of—or ones you haven’t even thought of—and I want them done,” she told co-host Jamie-Lynn Sigler during Tuesday’s episode.
The next morning, things escalated. “I woke up and felt like my appendix was bursting,” she explained. “So much pain. I’m screaming, and they ordered me an emergency CT at 2 in the morning.”
Doctors soon discovered that Applegate was suffering from a kidney infection that had already spread to her second kidney. “Because of this kidney infection, I have to have intravenous antibiotics right now,” she said. “And that’s where we’re at.”
Applegate, who has been open about her 2021 multiple sclerosis diagnosis, also revealed the hospital staff grilled her on whether she may have contracted a urinary tract infection due to poor hygiene—a suggestion she wasn’t afraid to call out with her trademark sense of humor.
“Like, what am I back-wiping? Seriously, I’m 53,” she quipped. “I have the cleanest vagina… I’m a clean girl down yonder.”
Despite being in visible distress, the actress managed to inject some levity into the conversation. “I’m holding in a bag o’ tears right now,” she admitted. “I sometimes fall into the nurse’s arms like a freako, just like crying.”