Not holding her back. Jamie-Lynn Sigler was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis more than a decade ago and she wants others to know that the disease isn’t a detriment.
“I think that’s why I’m sharing that I live with MS more than anything because … and it’s like involved in the whole idea of inclusion and diversity because I’m somebody that represents a group of people that live with this disease, but it’s not my life,” the Sopranos alum, 38, said in an interview with Daily Pop on Wednesday, February 5. “People with MS fall in love, have kids, have marriages, have jobs, have other problems that have nothing to do with their disease. I don’t bring it up because it is something I deal with every day, but we all have things we deal with every day.”
She added, “I have two babies, I live a full life. There are many faces of this disease. More than anything, I try to represent somebody who is trying to be brave in the face of it and still live their life and choose every day to not fall victim to it.”
Sigler shares sons Beau Kyle, 6, and Jack Adam, 2, with husband Cutter Dykstra. The actress told Us Weekly in June 2019 that she plans to explain the disease — which affects the central nervous system — to her children.
“My oldest son is 5 and so he has awareness,” Sigler said at the time. “Only in the past year have I used the words MS to explain things. I think I just follow his lead, what he wants to know. Then I will tell him. I don’t need to offer the information. … If he’s inquiring about something, I’m happy to talk about it and don’t force it on him. It doesn’t need to be the topic all the time because it’s only a small part of me.”
The I Do star continued on that Beau is “well aware of my abilities and disabilities” and “has no judgment about that, which I appreciate.”
Sigler — who revealed in January 2016 that she had been battling MS for 15 years — shared her body transformation with MS after giving birth to Jack in April 2019.
“This was 5 months postpartum.. and then the second photo was in January,” she captioned a series of photos of herself in active wear. “I do strength training 2-3 times a week on a rug in my home. That’s it. Also, it is NOT about being skinny. I could care less. This hard work is what keeps all my professional and personal dreams alive. I have MS and I am still strong.”
