Christina Applegate may have had MS symptoms '6 or 7 years' before diagnosis

Christina Applegate is opening up about life with MS and her big moment at the Emmys.

The "Dead to Me" star, 52, sat down with Robin Roberts for ABC News and discussed living with multiple sclerosis after being diagnosed with the disease in 2021.

"I live kind of in hell," she said. "I'm not out a lot, so this is a little difficult just for my system."

Applegate received her multiple sclerosis diagnosis while she was working on the third season of her Netflix show "Dead to Me," which she has suggested will be her final acting role. According to the Mayo Clinic, multiple sclerosis is a disease "in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues," and symptoms include numbness or weakness the limbs, lack of coordination and the inability to walk.

The actress reflected back and said she "probably" had symptoms of MS "six or seven years" before she was diagnosed. "I noticed, especially the first season (of ‘Dead to Me’), we’d be shooting and my leg would buckle. I really just put it off as being tired, or I’m dehydrated, or it’s the weather," she said. "Then nothing would happen for months, and I didn’t pay attention. But when it hit this hard, I had to pay attention."

It was Selma Blair, whom Applegate co-starred in the 2002 movie "The Sweetest Thing" and was diagnosed with MS in 2018, that convinced her to finally get tested.

"She knew. If not for her, it could have been way worse," Applegate said.

Christina Applegate talks standing ovation at the 2024 Emmys

In January, Applegate made a rare public appearance at the 2024 Emmys, where she presented the best supporting actress in a comedy series award to Ayo Edebiri. Applegate, who was also nominated herself for lead actress in a comedy for her role on "Dead to Me," received a standing ovation from the audience before quipping that they were "totally shaming me with disability by standing up."

Speaking to ABC News, Applegate said she "actually kind of blacked out" during this Emmys moment.

"People said, 'Oh, you were so funny,' and I'm like, I don't even know what I said," she shared. "I don't know what I was doing. I got so freaked out that I didn't even know what was happening anymore."

Still, Applegate felt "really beloved, and it was really a beautiful thing," and she told ABC the support she has received since revealing her diagnosis is "wonderful, and I'm really grateful." But she also maintained a sense of humor while downplaying the significance of her Emmys standing ovation.

"I'm just going to say this: That audience stood up for everybody," she joked.

While sharing her MS diagnosis in 2021, Applegate told fans, "It's been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It's been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some (expletive) blocks it."

Contributing: Naledi Ushe

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Christina Applegate opens up about MS battle, says she lives 'in hell'