Jamie-Lynn Sigler revealed that she moved away from Hollywood because she wanted more privacy as she battles MS.
“We needed a change,” she told Us Weekly in a new interview about relocating to Austin, Texas with her family five years ago.
The “Sopranos” alum added, “When I moved here, I started using a cane once in a while because I didn’t feel like I was being watched.”
“The Sopranos” alum Jamie-Lynn Sigler told US Weekly that she moved from Hollywood to Austin, Texas because she wanted privacy in her MS battle. jamielynnsigler/Instagram
The actress (seen above in “The Sopranos) said she liked that she could use her cane in public in Texas. Getty Images
Sigler, who has two sons with husband Cutter Dykstra, said that in Austin she feels like she’s “just Beau and Jack’s mom at the baseball field.”
The actress and Dykstra, 36, left California for Texas with Beau, 12, and Jack, 8, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.
The following year, Sigler told People that she felt “disconnected, in the best way I’ve ever know” as a Texas resident.
“It’s all about outdoors and nature which I really appreciate since I never had it growing up in New York and LA,” she shared.
“I didn’t feel like I was being watched,” said Sigler (who is pictured above with husband Cutter Dykstra). jamielynnsigler/Instagram
Sigler moved to Texas with her husband and two sons, Beau (pictured above) and Jack, in 2021. jamielynnsigler/Instagram
Sigler also said at the time that her sons were “thriving” and “not holed up on screens as much anymore.”
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 her Us Weekly interview done 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 authenticity felt like,” she shared. “Everything was a lie and for show. I didn’t even know who I was.”
Sigler (seen above) told US Weekly that she felt like she was living a lie when she hid her MS diagnosis for 14 years. jamielynnsigler/Instagram
Sigler (pictured above with son Beau) felt like she was “suffocating” before she went public with her diagnosis in 2016. jamielynnsigler/Instagram
Sigler explained that her “secrets had piled up” and she felt like she was “suffocating.”
“I was constantly in fight or flight and survival mode. I’m sure that it contributed to a lot of the flare-ups I experienced,” she added.
The “Entourage” actress learned to cope with her illness thanks to her podcast partner Christina Applegate, who also has MS.
“I give Christina all the credit for being like, “Yeah, we have to wear diapers sometimes,’” Sigler told the outlet. “That was always, like, God forbid anybody would have known [that].”
Sigler (pictured above with her husband) is now very open about her MS battle. jamielynnsigler/Instagram
She even has a podcast with Christina Applegate (both pictured above) where they talk about their experiences having MS. GMA/ABC
“There’s still such shame about it,” she said.
Sigler and Applegate, 54, talk about their experiences with MS on their “MeSsy” podcast that debuted in 2024.
The “Dead to Me” actress was recently hospitalized but said in a health update that she’s “feeling better every day.”