Christina Applegate Recalls ‘Crying Every Night’ During Breast Cancer Journey

Christina Applegate wishes she would have shared everything about her breast cancer journey — the good and the bad.

While speaking with Dax Shepard on the latest episode of the Armchair Expert podcast, Applegate, 52, expressed that she regrets not being open and honest about what she was feeling following her 2008 diagnosis and double mastectomy.

"I learned that lesson the hard way because in 2008, when I had breast cancer at 36 years old, I went out, and I was the good girl talking about 'Oh, I love my new boobs' that are all scarred and f---ed up. What was I thinking?" she said.

"My first interview was with Robin Roberts when I had cancer, and I'm sitting there lying my ass off about how I felt," continued Applegate.

The Married with Children alum said that she got up and "literally fell into the wall" after the interview and began sobbing "because it was a lie."

"Everything I was saying was a freaking lie. It was me trying to convince myself of something, and I think that did no service to anyone," she said. "Yes, I started a foundation right away. Yes, I did all the things that I had to do, and we raised millions of dollars for women to get MRIs who were at high risk. Yes, we did a good thing, but at the back of it, I was taking off my bra and crying every night. And I wish that I had said that."

The actress used the lesson to encourage "a friend who is in the public eye" to be open about their cancer journey.

Applegate recalled immediately telling her friend to take down a social media post where they said, "If there's anyone that can beat it, it's going to be me."

"I said, 'Take it down,'" recalled Applegate. "I said, 'Take it down right now because someone's mom just died, and she was pretty strong. Someone's daughter just died, someone's sister just died, someone's dad just died from this. Take it down.' I said, 'What you're gonna do is you're going to be honest every step of the way through your chemo, your radiation, all the stuff.' "

"It ended up that people really were helped by what she did," added Applegate.

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Since then, the actress has been more open about her medical journey, including announcing her multiple sclerosis diagnosis in August 2021.