“Alas, as with so many people having sex for the first time, it led only to regrets,” the 54-year-old actress writes in her new memoir, “You With the Sad Eyes.”

Christina Applegate shares story of losing her virginity at 16 while playing promiscuous teen on Married With Children

"Alas, as with so many people having sex for the first time, it led only to regrets," the 54-year-old actress writes in her new memoir, "You With the Sad Eyes."

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on *Entertainment Tonight* and Popsugar.

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March 3, 2026 8:30 a.m. ET

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Christina Applegate attends the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards. Credit:

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Christina Applegate would know better than anyone how often the idyllic shenanigans shown on TV *doesn't *imitate real-life.

The former child star reflects on how different her offscreen experiences were from what she portrayed as Kelly Bundy on *Married…With Children* in her new memoir, *You With the Sad Eyes*. In the recently published book, Applegate, 54, reveals how her childhood in L.A.'s Laurel Canyon was filled with instability and marred by experiences with molestation and abuse, including watching her single mom, actress Nancy Priddy, struggle with heroin addiction and a physically abusive boyfriend.

It was a very different picture from the dysfunctional but comedic family life Applegate played out alongside TV parents, Ed O'Neill (Al) and Katey Sagal (Peg), and her onscreen younger bother David Faustino (Bud).

Christina Applegate, David Faustino, Ed O'Nell, and Katy Sagal star in 'Married With Children'.

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As Applegate recalls, Kelly Bundy was an '80s icon, "a lovable airhead who hung out with wannabe rock stars." She wore Lycra dresses, teased her hair to the sky, and was just the right amount of "full rock slut."

"I played Kelly as a tease and as a virgin—which is why I think viewers loved her rather than hated her," Applegate writes. "One of the creators, Michael Moye, and I talked about this regularly. We agreed to keep Kelly virginal and have the 'Kelly is a tramp' opinion come solely from her brother, Bud."

In real life, the actress was 16, and surrounded by a society that had her believing that sex was the next best thing for a woman her age to delve into. Applegate writes that while Kelly was teasing boys left and right, she "waited until the propitious date of 8/8/88 to have sex for the first time, as diligently noted in my diary."

"Guess what? You know when I was talking about how I needed to have sex? Well, I did," a young Applegate reveals in her journal entry. "And I did the dirty deed with the only person I would want to do it for the first time with anyway. I just made love to [name redacted] trice. It hurt like a motherf---er. But oh well, it's over with."

Christina Applegate poses for photos with her Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2022.

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Looking back on the experience, Applegate confesses that, "as with so many people having sex for the first time, it led only to regrets." She continues, "In the name of romance, I had told the guy, 'just put it in for a second so I know what it feels like.' That was my first Sexy Town. Four days later, I wrote that I had 'major regrets about the incident,' saying, 'I'm glad it's over with but yet I really wish I hadn't done it.' I was stuck between caring about this person and dealing with their lack of care for me, but I brushed it off, internalizing as usual."

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Much of Applegate's memoir reveals the chaos that she internalized during her life prior to stardom, and how that snowballed as she grew older. From the abuse her mother endured to the actress' own experiences with abusive relationships and sexual assault, Applegate bears the vulnerability of her younger self as she grapples with how her past has molded her into the woman she is today.

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The actress told PEOPLE in an interview ahead of the memoir's release that revisiting her childhood trauma while writing her memoir has been an emotional process.

"To be honest, it's actually opened up so many wounds, and it's okay because I'm a strong girl, I'm going to get through it," Applegate explained. "But it wasn't, like, get to the other end and be like, 'Ah, now it's out.' It was the stuff that I'd never talked about. The stuff that was behind closed doors and that no one but the closest people in my life have ever known happened."

She also explained why she felt compelled to share her story.

"I had someone say to me, 'Are you doing this because you're being a victim?'" she recalled. "I'm like, 'No, I'm empowering other people out there.' At least I hope to."

She continued, "I hope that some girl or boy or anyone who's gone through being molested or beaten or anything I've gone through can go, 'Oh my God, okay. I'm going to be okay.'"

*You With the Sad Eyes* is now available to purchase wherever books are sold.

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