Fans of Christina Applegate were thrilled to see her gracing the Emmys stage — as was her ex-husband, Johnathon Schaech.
“She danced opening night on broadway on a broken foot! Beat cancer! She’s the toughest human being I’ve ever met! F–k MS!” Schaech, 54, tweeted on Monday, January 15, alongside an article about Applegate’s Emmy Awards appearance. “So proud of her! Go Christina!”
Applegate, 52, was the first presenter of the night at the 75th annual awards show and received a standing ovation as she approached the mic. “Thank you so much. Oh, my God, you’re totally shaming my disability by standing up,” she quipped, referring to her battle with multiple sclerosis. “Body not by Ozempic.”
As the audience continued to shower her with praise, Applegate insisted, “We don’t have to applaud every time I do something.”
Applegate noted that it was “an honor” to portray “funny, flawed, complex characters” throughout her career like the ones nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category before announcing The Bear‘s Ayo Edebiri as the winner. “Ayo, get your ass up here,” she said.
Applegate was a nominee herself, earning a nod for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on Netflix’s Dead to Me. (The Emmy ultimately went to Abbott Elementary star Quinta Brunson.)
Monday night marked a rare public appearance for Applegate, who announced in August 2021 that she was diagnosed with MS “a few months” prior. “It’s been a strange journey,” she tweeted. “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 a–hole blocks it.”
She continued: “As one of my friends that has MS said, ‘We wake up and take the indicated action’. And that’s what I do. So now I ask for privacy. As I go through this thing. Thank you xo.”
Production on Dead to Me was postponed in the wake of Applegate’s revelation. The series, which also stars Linda Cardellini and James Marsden, debuted in 2020 and concluded with season 3 in 2022.
Applegate spoke frankly about her health in a November 2022 interview with The New York Times, noting that “there is no [getting] better” when battling MS. “I put on 40 pounds; I can’t walk without a cane. … It’s not like I came on the other side of it like, ‘Woohoo, I’m totally fine,’” she said at the time, explaining how she came to “process” her diagnosis. “Acceptance? No. I’m never going to accept this. I’m pissed.”
Applegate exchanged vows with Schaech in 2001. He filed for divorce four years later, citing irreconcilable differences, and the twosome finalized the terms in 2007. Applegate moved on with musician Martyn LeNoble, whom she married in 2013 after a three-year engagement. They welcomed their daughter, Sadie, in 2011.
The 12-year-old accompanied her mom to the Emmy Awards on Monday, looking like the spitting image of Applegate in a black suit and white shirt. The mother-daughter duo both sported Dr. Martens and wore their blonde hair loose around their shoulders.
