Christina Applegate Reflects on Addiction's Toll and the Pain of Losing Her Former Boyfriend Lee Grivas
Christina Applegate spoke openly about the passing of her former boyfriend, Lee Grivas, due to addiction back in 2008.
Following a conversation with guest Robert Iler regarding his struggle with addiction on the "MeSsy" podcast, hosted by Applegate, 53, and Jamie-Lynn Sigler, on Tuesday, November 4, the star of Dead to Me found herself contemplating Grivas’ demise.
“I sometimes struggle to comprehend, as with Lee, a story many are aware of and can easily find online,” Applegate revealed. “My partner, who is no longer with us, it felt like I exhausted every effort, didn't I? Yet, he still sought an escape. Upon his passing, the feeling was simply, 'Damn it.'”
During July 2008, Grivas, then 26 years old, was discovered deceased from what appeared to be a drug overdose within his Hollywood residence.
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“My sorrow is immense,” Applegate expressed in a contemporary declaration. “Lee was an extraordinary individual who played a profoundly significant and wonderful role in my existence. His absence is felt indescribably. He impacted countless people, and I extend my deepest sympathies to his mother, brother, and his entire circle of relatives and companions.”
Though Applegate has revealed little concerning Grivas’ death, she has discussed managing sorrow after her father, Robert Priddy, passed away in April. (Priddy was 82 at the time of his death, though the reason for his passing has not been publicly announced.)
“I experienced the loss of my father, and someone inquired, ‘What stage of grief are you currently in?’” she recounted on a May episode of her “MeSsy” podcast. “That question struck me deeply, as I had to inform one of my closest companions, ‘No, I don't adhere to grief stages. There are no fixed guidelines for how I process this sorrow.’”
Applegate further explained that her approach to mourning resembled the acceptance of any “long-term health conditions or ailments we endure.”
“There are no predetermined methods, and one must grant themselves grace for this,” she clarified. “Because upon hearing her words, I thought, ‘Oh, heck. Perhaps I should be experiencing, you know, rage, disbelief … until the eventual conclusion.’”
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Despite not adhering to “fixed guidelines,” Applegate desires to retain the memory of her father as time progresses.
“I do not wish to reach a stage where his absence ceases to cause pain,” she conveyed.
Beyond recovering from bereavement, Applegate has been managing personal health challenges since her diagnosis with multiple sclerosis in 2021. (As per the National MS Society, this condition impacts the brain, spinal Hoda Kotb’s cord, and optic nerves. Potential symptoms encompass numbness, prickling sensations, discomfort, memory impairment, vision loss, and immobility.)
“I aspire to accomplish these things, yet I am unable, and it seems my condition is deteriorating,” Applegate revealed during an April guest spot on Hoda Kotb’s “Making Space” podcast. “This reality is discouraging. However, an inner voice prompts me, ‘You must hold onto hope for a miracle. You must envision a different outcome to this.’”
Applegate further stated: “That essentially describes my current state, which isn't particularly motivating for others. If a listener thinks, ‘Oh my goodness, I relate to that, and I feel I'm not handling it correctly,’ there is no correct way to manage MS.”
