Christina Applegate looks back at relationship with ex David Boreanaz, who helped her leave abusi...

The actors met after Boreanaz landed a guest role on &34;Married With Children.&34; Christina Applegate looks back at relationship with ex David Boreanaz, who helped her leave abusive boyfriend The actors met after Boreanaz landed a guest role on &34;Married With Children.&34; By Shania Russell :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/ShaniaRussellauthorphoto5934b684845d480caa4485648c39ef2b.jpg) Shania Russell Shania Russell is a news writer at , with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine. EW's editorial guidelines March 4, 2026 12:12 p.m.

The actors met after Boreanaz landed a guest role on "Married With Children."

Christina Applegate looks back at relationship with ex David Boreanaz, who helped her leave abusive boyfriend

The actors met after Boreanaz landed a guest role on "Married With Children."

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

EW's editorial guidelines

March 4, 2026 12:12 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Christina Applegate; David Boreanaz. Credit:

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty; Gilbert Flores/Getty

Christina Applegate will always have a special place in her heart for ex-boyfriend David Boreanaz.

In her new memoir, *You With the Sad Eyes*, Applegate gets candid about several of her tumultuous Hollywood relationships, unpacking her marriage to Johnathon Schaech, a short-lived fling with Brad Pitt, and time spent with Skid Row's Sebastian Bach. And while her relationship with Boreanaz is among those that didn't work out, Applegate noted that the *Angel* star still played a pivotal role in her life by helping her get out of a bad situation.

"In early 1993, a young actor right out of college by the name of David Boreanaz made his first credited appearance on TV in *Married With Children*," the Emmy winner writes, explaining that he played her love interest in the season 7 episode "Movie Show."

Though Boreanaz's character quickly proved himself to be a terrible boyfriend — an unfaithful bad-boy biker who earned the ire of Ed O'Neill's Al Bundy — Applegate writes that working alongside the actor was an immediate pleasure.

David Boreanaz and Christina Applegate on 'Married With Children'.

"I met him first thing that workweek. David and I quickly became friends — he was funny and kind and we would pass our lunchtimes together," she shared, adding that their friendly relationship became unexpectedly crucial, as she was in the midst of a long-term relationship with an abusive boyfriend.

"When, on Thursday of that week, yet again something happened with my boyfriend, I called David, even though I'd known him for only four days," Applegate recounts. "'I can't be alone in my house,' I said, and David showed up at the log cabin to keep me company."

She continues, "David made me feel safe in my house, and a few days later, he and I started a thing. We dated for a few months, and even though it didn't last, he helped me eventually leave. I adore David for that. Thinking back, I can't say enough how much I appreciated him for being the reason I was finally able to get back to normal."

Christina Applegate says she was abused by a babysitter as a child: 'I felt sick and scared and sad'

David Boreanaz recalls Betty White shocking him with a risqué comment when they met on 'Bones'

The one-time couple had kept their brief relationship under the radar but publicly shared a sweet moment years later, when Boreanaz presented Applegate with the Favorite Female TV Star Award at the 2009 People's Choice Awards. As he handed her the crystal sculpture trophy, the duo shared a brief kiss.

Boreanaz would later marry Ingrid Quinn in 1997 before the duo divorced in 1999. In 2001, he tied the knot with former *Playboy* model Jaime Bergman, with whom he shares a son and daughter.

Christina Applegate and David Boreanaz pose backstage during the 35th Annual People's Choice Awards on Jan. 7, 2009.

Frazer Harrison/Getty

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

Applegate wed Schaech in 2001 and the couple split four years later. She married musician Martyn LeNoble in February 2013, with whom she shares a 15-year-old daughter. In her memoir, Applegate writes that she knew her marriage to Schaech would not work at their wedding.**** "I never considered stopping the wedding — for a start, I was halfway down the aisle," she confesses. "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.' Because there I was in my custom gown, the center of this beautiful f---ing wedding filled with all the perfect that you could possibly imagine. And I knew right then that this man was not it for me."**** The actress delves further into the abusive relationship that plagued her late teenage years in the new memoir and also shared a few words about the experience during a February chat with PEOPLE.**** "My mom always said, 'I never met a junkie I didn't like.' And that kind of was how I rolled," Applegate told the outlet. "I never was with anyone who had a real job. I was always with these broken birds that I wanted to fix. I just always thought I could do it. And you know what? You can't. It's like, if I can be a lesson to anyone."

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

- Celebrities & Creators

- Celebrity Dating & Relationships

Original Article on Source

Source: "EW Celebrity"

Read More

---

Source: Celebrity

Published: March 4, 2026 at 12:57PM on Source: PRIME TIME

#ShowBiz#Sports#Celebrities#Lifestyle