Christina Applegate has confessed that she lied when she described her double mastectomy as a 'blessing' in a 2008 interview with Oprah Winfrey. The actress, who was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer at age 36, now says she was 'disgusted' by her own words.
In her new memoir, 'You With The Sad Eyes', Applegate writes that she felt pressured to present a positive front. 'I thought I should tell everyone that it was a blessing,' she says, but admits it was 'bulls**t'. She recalls a conversation with singer Melissa Etheridge, who told her the experience was a chance to 'start over'.
Applegate, who also lives with Multiple Sclerosis, says she now regrets not being honest about the emotional and physical toll. 'To this day, I feel emotionally and physically mangled by what I went through,' she writes, adding that 'no amount of plastic surgery can ever make up for it'.
The actress underwent a double mastectomy after testing positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation. She later founded Right Action for Women, a charity providing financial assistance for MRI screenings. However, she acknowledges that the organisation 'mitigates the terrible loss I felt and feel'.
Reflecting on her past comments, Applegate says she was 'acting like Little Ms. Warrior' but was actually 'alone and sad'. She concludes: 'I'm not going to lie anymore. MS sucks. It's not like you can get rid of the cancer, get breast reconstruction and move on.'
