Christina Applegate is finding out that getting over grief isn’t linear.
On the May 6 episode of her and Jamie Lynn Sigler’s podcast, MeSsy, the actress, 53, opened up about how she’s been doing since losing her father, Robert Priddy, in late April.
“I lost my dad, but I had someone say, ‘Which part of the stages of grief are you on?’ And it was such a profound thing because I had to say to like one of my dearest friends, like, ‘No. I don’t do stages of grief. There is no set rules as to how I’m grieving this,'” she recalled.
Related: Christina Applegate Tears Up as She Announces the Death of Her Father: ‘First Time I’ve Really Cried’
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Christina Applegate
Applegate, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021, explained that her grieving process was similar to accepting any “chronic illnesses or diseases that we go through.”
“There’s no there are no set rules, and you have to forgive yourself for that,” she continued. “Because when she said that, I was like, ‘Oh, f—. Maybe I should be doing, you know, anger, denial … till I get to the end of ellipsis and then whatever.”
Either way, Applegate added that she and Singler believed the emotions tied with grief “come back” over time, and she didn’t want to “forget my dad” by pushing herself through the process.
Related: Christina Applegate Says Living with MS Is ‘The Worst Thing I’ve Ever Gone Through’
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Christina Applegate
“I don’t wanna get to the point where it doesn’t hurt that he’s gone,” she continued. “So, but anyway, I don’t even know what I’m talking about. But that’s what I was thinking as you were reading that.”
Last month, Applegate got emotional as she announced her father’s death on the April 29 episode of the podcast.
“My dad just passed away a week ago,” she said with tears in her voice. “This is the first time I’ve really cried. I think kind of, like, I wasn’t allowing myself to have that yet. Too busy with this, too busy with that.”
Related: Christina Applegate Says Ed O’Neill ‘Raised Her’: ‘If You Don’t Like Anything About Me, It’s His Fault’
Applegate said that her family “knew” her dad “was going to die,” as she wondered, “Is that an excuse for not feeling? Because you know that someone’s gonna go? And you’ve said your goodbyes?”
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The actress later gave more insight into her early years with her father, as she said, “I didn’t grow up with my dad. He and my mom separated when I was five months old, but he’s been in my life ever since.”
She said that her dad “wasn’t part of the lessons part of life,” but that she has two “beautiful siblings and an amazing stepmother” thanks to him.
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