Featured Image Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Topics: Brad Pitt, Celebrity, Christina Applegate, Entertainment, Sex and Relationships, Books
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: Brad Pitt, Celebrity, Christina Applegate, Entertainment, Sex and Relationships, Books
Christina Applegate has divulged the real reason she ditched her former flame, Brad Pitt, at the MTV Video Music Awards.
The 54-year-old Dead to Me star first rose to fame at just 15 years old, appearing as Kelly Bundy in Fox’s first sitcom Married… With Children.
Flash-forward a few years to 17, and Applegate found herself in an extended friendship group which included a 'little‐known actor named Brad Pitt'. Johnny Depp was also in the group, whom Applegate admits she was 'in love with for years'.
According to the Hollywood A-lister, her and 62-year-old Pitt's friendship was always platonic, she writes in her newly-released book, titled You With the Sad Eyes: A Memoir by Christina Applegate.
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But, everything seemingly changed 'one day' when Applegate 'took another look at Brad and thought, hmm...'.
And, apparently, Pitt 'did the same'.
Now, the Anchorman actress was set to make an appearance at the star-studded music awards ceremony back in 1989 and decided to invite Pitt, who was 26 at the time, as her date.
Pitt was 'kind enough' to drive to her house and pick up her mum, fellow actress Nancy Priddy, and take her to the event, as Applegate needed to be there early as a presenter.
However, it's clear that Applegate didn't do a great job at sticking around after crossing paths with heavy metal band Skid Row frontman, Sebastian Bach, whom she referred to as a 'long-haired hunk'.
"I felt so powerful and sure of myself for once that when the awards show was over, I left with Sebastian Bach, not Brad Pitt," Applegate admitted. "I hate to put it like this, but Brad back then was still making his way as an actor, and he wasn’t yet THE Brad Pitt, the man of so many people’s dreams."
After clocking what had happened, Pitt reportedly had no other option but to 'sullenly' drive Applegate's mum home, narrowly avoiding getting into a fight with 'a bunch of gang members' while stopping at a petrol station on the journey back.
The whole ordeal apparently left the actor 'subsequently very mad' at Applegate.
It's clear the actress regretted her decision as soon as she found out that Bach already had a long-term partner and a one-year-old child.
Reflecting on the situation, Applegate wrote: "We didn’t talk for many years after that. Much later, but at different times, two of his movie star girlfriends asked me if it was true that I was the girl who left Brad behind at the MTV Video Music Awards. Brad had apparently told both of them separately that he was still mad at me.
"Eventually, we agreed that I’d been a kid, and though he’d deserved much better, it was time to forgive the child who dumped him for the lead singer of Skid Row. Of course, Brad is now THE Brad Pitt, and Sebastian Bach... well, he still has long hair, I guess."
Applegate went on to tie the knot with actor Johnathon Schaech in October 2001, with a ceremony 'choreographed within an inch of its life'.
However, the wedding wasn't smooth sailing, as she detail in her memoir: "The worst thing was the moment I walked around the corner and into the ceremony. One of my favourite songs was playing, and when I looked hard at the face of my husband-to-be, I thought, 'Oh f**k. F**k, oh f**k.'"
Applegate added: "And I knew right then that this was not the man for me."
Schaech filed for divorce in December 2005, citing irreconcilable differences. It was finalised in August 2007.
Applegate has been married to Dutch bassist Martyn LeNoble since February 2013 and they welcomed their daughter, Sadie Grace, in January 2011.
Elsewhere in the memoir, Applegate - who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2021 and spoken candidly about her symptoms - opened up about her struggles with body dysmorphia.
"My ability to catch the eye of a then-famous rock star and then ditch someone like Brad Pitt at an after-party … still couldn’t convince me I was an attractive person," she wrote.
"For millions of Americans watching Married… with Children, I was an exemplar of female beauty, but to me, I was 'too plain,'" Applegate shared. "I thought my face was mediocre at best. I worked on my body so hard, but I was never satisfied.
"There were days when I’d go to a spin class and then work out with my trainer and then go to a dance class for two and a half more hours, always chasing the unobtainable, abusing my body in the service of a quest for perfection that was itself as damaging as any addiction.
"My sickness for perfection was always the driving force in my life."