Christina Applegate Reveals The Moment She Knew Her Marriage To Johnathon Schaech Wouldn’t Last
Christina Applegate could’ve been a runaway bride, but she pressed on with her nuptials to now-ex-husband Johnathon Schaech — despite knowing their relationship was doomed moments before they even said “I do.”
The “Dead to Me” leading lady referred to her and Schaech’s wedding as “a master class in anal perfectionism” in her new memoir, “You with the Sad Eyes,” which was released Tuesday, according to multiple outlets.
Reflecting on their wedding ceremony, Applegate admitted that even as she walked down the aisle on their big day, she knew their relationship was destined to fail.
“The worst thing was the moment I walked around the corner and into the ceremony. One of my favorite songs was playing, and when I looked hard at the face of my husband-to-be, I thought, ‘Oh fuck. Fuck, oh fuck.’”
Applegate, 54, and the “That Thing You Do” star, 56, began dating in 1997 and tied the knot four years later. After amicably separating in 2005, the former couple finalized their divorce in 2007.
The “Anchorman” star went on to marry Martyn LeNoble in 2013 after welcoming a daughter, Sadie Grace LeNoble, together in 2011. After splitting from Applegate, Schaech was married to Jana Kramer from 2010 to 2011. He’s currently married to Julie Solomon, whom he wed in 2013.
Applegate confessed that she “never considered stopping the wedding” because she was already “halfway down the aisle” when she realized she was making a mistake.
“I kept thinking, ‘Don’t be that guy. Don’t be that guy. Don’t be that guy. You’re sabotaging. You’re sabotaging. You’re sabotaging,’” she wrote. “Because there I was in my custom gown, the center of this beautiful fucking wedding filled with all the perfect that you could possibly imagine. And I knew right then that this man was not it for me.”
Elsewhere in the memoir, the Netflix star shared her dating advice for women, writing “If you go on a first date with a guy and you don’t like his shoes, run.”
Christina Applegate and Johnathon Schaech were married in Palm Springs, Ca. on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2001.
Joe Buissink via Getty Images
Claiming that a man’s shoes are a “telltale sign of whether or not a relationship will last,” the “Married with Children” alum then launched into a story about how Schaech’s shoe choice during their first outing gave her the absolute ick.
“For our first date, he had shown up in boots, but not even cowboy boots. I think they were supposed to look like a cowboy boot, but they missed the mark by a wide margin,” Applegate recalled. “No one should wear such things, but especially not if you live in Los Angeles, California.”
Admitting that she found herself fixating on his “bad shoes,” the actor said she had to internally chastise herself just to be able to stick out the entire date.
“Another voice [in my head] said, ‘You’re doing it again. This is the right person for you. He’s got his shit together. He’s attractive. He has a career,’” she said. “We were just very different. I’m scrappy. I tell fucked-up jokes. I can be offensive and rough around the edges. He was none of those things.”
Meanwhile, Schaech opened up about his marriage to Applegate on Jana Kramer’s “Whine Down” podcast in April 2022.
“My marriage was connected to my career, everything about my work. It was, you know, Christina is an actress. We were in the limelight,” he said of his ex-wife. “I loved her so much. I still love her so much. I don’t think [wife Julie Solomon] will ever be offended that I would ever say that.”
Despite their marriage not going the distance, the screenwriter has appeared to remain supportive of Applegate over the years, particularly in the wake of her multiple sclerosis (MS). Applegate revealed her MS diagnosis in 2021.
Following her appearance at the 2023 Emmy Awards, Schaech cheered her on in an X post, writing, “She danced opening night on Broadway on a broken foot! Beat cancer! She’s the toughest human being I’ve ever met! Fuck MS! So proud of her! Go, Christina!”
