Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide that some readers may find distressing
Christina Applegate has revealed how much plastic surgery she’s had and why she felt ‘shamed’ into going under the knife in the first place.
Applegate, 52, has been a firm fixture in the entertainment industry since appearing on Days Of Our Lives as a baby.
Nine years later she made her feature film debut in Bob Claver’s Jaws of Satan and the mother-of-one has since wracked up a Tony Award nomination, four Golden Globe nods and won a Primetime Emmy for her guest role in Friends.
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But it hasn’t all been plane sailing for the Californian as in June 2021 the actor was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).
The diagnosis—released to the public two months later—forced her to step away from her acting career and she now fronts a podcast with fellow actress and MS sufferer Jamie-Lynn Sigler.
On a recent episode of the MeSsy with Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler podcast, the pair discussed ageing and dealing with shame.
During the candid chat, the Dead to Me alum confirmed she’d undergone cosmetic surgery in the past.
Applegate claimed she’d only had one procedure and it was to have the bags under her eyes removed.
"I was on a show and one of the producers — [a] very famous [person] who did a very famous show as well — said, ‘Hey we’re having a lot of trouble lighting under your eyes,” she told the 43-year-old Sopranos actress. “’Your bags under your eyes are so big’.'”
She went on to explain her previously prominent eye bags had been a ‘hereditary thing’ before claiming the unnamed producer ‘suggested’ she got them removed.
The Broadway icon went on to reveal she’d caved to the peer pressure and had gone under the knife at 27 to get them removed.
“I had the only plastic surgery I’d ever had to remove the bags under my eyes.”
She concluded the statement by blasting the anonymous Hollywood executive for making her feel ‘shame’ by ‘plant[ing] seeds into [her] head’.
Earlier this year Applegate shocked fans when admitting she ‘doesn’t enjoy living’ amid her battle with her autoimmune disease.
“This is being really honest: I don't enjoy living. I don't enjoy it,” she revealed.
"I don't enjoy things anymore. You know, if someone can come over and lay in bed with me and talk, like you have… that's enjoyable, I enjoy that. But if someone’s like, 'Let’s get up and go for a walk' or 'Let's go get a coffee,' I don’t enjoy that process."
Following the candid confession, Applegate later clarified her comments.
She said: “I was talking about some dark stuff that I was thinking and feeling.
"I feel like when we hold things in we give them power. I also think that there's so much shame a lot of people feel when they're going through mental health issues... and when people holds those in, because they're so afraid to say how they truly feel, we give it immense power."
She added that she believes it’s ‘important’ to be able to ‘say these things’ and that she wasn’t sitting at home on ‘suicide watch’.
“OK? I am not. Nor have I ever been.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
Topics: Celebrity, Health, Beauty, Entertainment
Ella Scott