During a recent episode of her MeSsy podcast, Christina Applegate opened up about her battle with anorexia.
The actor disclosed to her cohost Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who was also diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, that she had “never discussed” her eating disorder before.
The Married... With Children star, now 52, shared:
“It was f**king torture."
“I just deprived myself of food for years and years and years.”
She continued that her mother put her on WeightWatchers when she was just 15, but her issues began when she was much younger after a neighbor boy called her fat.
Applegate said of her mom:
“She was always competitive."
“If I got down to 110 [pounds], she’d be like… ‘How’d you do it?’"
"And the reason was, I had an eating disorder.”
The Dead to Me star then revealed she “would eat five almonds in a day.”
“And if I had six, I would cry, and I wouldn’t want to leave the house."
“And that stuck with me for years and years and years.”
Married... With Children aired in 1987, the same year Applegate started WeightWatchers.
The actor said that people on the show, which ran for 11 seasons, were well aware of her diminishing stature, adding that there was a moment when the costume department had to take in her size 0 clothes.
Applegate continued:
“I wanted my bones to be sticking out, so I didn’t eat."
And her size was “very scary to everyone” on set.
“They were like, ‘Christina never eats.’ They talked to me about it."
“But to me, I was enormous.”
You can hear some clips below.
On Instagram, the hosts warned in the caption:
"It’s Tuesday… which means an all new episode of #MeSsy!"
"Christina and Jamie open up about their battles with eating disorders and self-esteem. They reflect on the moments that changed their lives, and discuss body dysmorphia, societal conditioning, how they each got to a healthier place, and more."
"And even though it’s a serious conversation, we still managed to have a few laughs."
"*Trigger warning: discussion covers eating disorders and body image*"
They shared a similar warning on X, formerly Twitter.
"Todays episode of MeSsy is very personal and raw. So we have a trigger warning."
"We talk body image and eating disorders."
"So if that is something you have difficulty in hearing we understand."
"But also it’s our journey in healing from it. From societal pressure to our own."
People on social media applauded the hosts for opening up on a topic that is very difficult for many to address.
@messypodcast/Instagram
@messypodcast/Instagram
@messypodcast/Instagram
@messypodcast/Instagram
On the episode, Sigler revealed she, too, struggled with an eating disorder as a teen.
When she saw herself on the pilot of the HBO hit The Sopranos, she said it escalated.
“I was the fullest I had been ever. I didn’t look like any other young woman on any other show that I’d seen."
“There was a year between the pilot and the first episode and during that time, I had the eating disorder.”
She shared that when she returned to set to begin filming the series' first season, she was nearly fired.
“Because of how thin I was... They were like, ‘Whoa, no, no, no, no, no!’"
"The show was so supportive and loving, and they just wanted me healthy.”
Sigler revealed that at her lowest, she dropped to just 80 pounds.
“Every notebook, if you had a notebook from my sophomore and junior year of high school has like little numbers on the corner of it, just calculating food and calories."
You can listen to the full episode below.
