Jamie-Lynn Sigler has revealed that she stepped away from Hollywood because she wanted more privacy while battling MS.
“We needed a change,” she told Us Weekly in a new interview about moving her family to Austin, Texas, five years ago.
The “Sopranos” alum added, “When I moved here, I started using a cane sometimes because I didn’t feel seen.”
Sigler, who has two sons with her husband, Cutter Dykstra, said she feels like she is “just Bo and Jack’s mom on the baseball field” in Austin.
The actress and Dykstra, 36, traveled from California to Texas with their sons Beau, 12, and Jack, 8, during the 2021 COVID-19 pandemic.
The following year, Sigler told People that as a Texas resident, “I felt alienated in the best way I’ve ever known.”
“It’s all about the outdoors and nature, and I didn’t have that experience growing up in New York or Los Angeles, so I’m very grateful,” she said.
Sigler also said at the time that her sons had “grown up” and were “not cooped up in front of the TV as much.”
Sigler was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 20 years old, but she waited until 2016, when she was 34, to announce her diagnosis.
In an interview with US Weekly to promote her upcoming memoir, “And So It Is…: A Memoir of Acceptance and Hope,” out May 5, Sigler recalled that hiding her MS took a toll on her.
“I was always acting. I had no idea what the real thing felt like,” she said. “It was all a lie and a facade. I didn’t even know who I was.”
Sigler described feeling “suffocated” as “secrets piled up.”
“I was always in fight-or-flight, survival mode, and I’m sure that contributed to many of the flare-ups I experienced,” she added.
The “Entourage” actress learned how to cope with her illness thanks to her podcast partner, Christina Applegate, who also has MS.
“I fully accept that Christina said, ‘Yeah, you have to wear diapers sometimes,’ and it was always like, God forbid anyone ever know that,” Sigler told the magazine.
“I still feel very embarrassed,” she said.
Sigler and Applegate, 54, will talk about their experiences with MS on their podcast “MeSsy,” which debuted in 2024.
The “Dead to Me” actress was recently hospitalized, but said in a health update that she is “feeling better every day.”
