Despite being a global heartthrob, Brad Pitt has not been immune to the pangs of rejection. In her newly released memoir, “You with the Sad Eyes,” Christina Applegate, now 54, candidly shares an episode from her past where she turned down the Oscar-winning actor, who is now 62.

At the peak of her fame from “Married With Children,” Applegate invited Pitt to join her as a companion to the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, an event where she was slated to present. However, the night took an unexpected turn when her attention was captivated by an unexpected figure.

The rock star who caught Applegate’s eye was none other than Sebastian Bach, now 57, the charismatic frontman of Skid Row. This chance encounter led Applegate to abandon Pitt at the event, leaving him to drive her mother home in a sullen silence, as recounted in an excerpt shared by Page Six.

Reflecting on the incident, Applegate noted, “I spent the entire night mesmerized by Bach, who was then a long-haired sensation fronting Skid Row.” She also remarked, “I hate to frame it this way, but back then, Brad was still carving his path as an actor and hadn’t yet become THE Brad Pitt, the dream of so many.”

This anecdote not only highlights the unpredictability of youthful choices but also offers a glimpse into the early days of Brad Pitt’s rise to stardom, before he became a household name and the object of widespread admiration.

‘I had spent all night staring at Bach, who was then a long-haired hunk fronting the band Skid Row,’ she said, adding, ‘I hate to put it like this, but Brad back then was still making his way as an actor, and he wasn’t yet THE Brad Pitt, the man of so many people’s dreams.’

Christina Applegate, 54, revealed that she dumped Brad Pitt, 62, for an unlikely rock star in her new memoir, You with the Sad Eyes; Applegate pictured in 2020

The actress recalled the night she invited Pitt to accompany her to the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, where she was a presenter (they are pictured at the show)

‘And it gets worse: Brad was left to sullenly drive my mom … home. Apparently, at a gas station on the way, Brad almost got into a fight with a bunch of gang members, and, not surprisingly, was subsequently very mad at me.’ 

She ended up regretting her decision when she later found out that Bach was already dating someone and had a one-year-old child. 

‘Much later … two of [Pitt’s] movie star girlfriends asked me if it was true that I was the girl who left Brad behind at the MTV Video Music Awards. Brad had apparently told both of them separately that he was still mad at me,’ she wrote.

‘Eventually, we agreed that I’d been a kid, and though he deserved much better, it was time to forgive the child who dumped him for the lead singer of Skid Row.’

‘Of course, Brad is now THE Brad Pitt, and Sebastian Bach … well, he still has long hair, I guess,’ she quipped.

Elsewhere in her memoir she revealed how she’d been ‘in love’ with actor Johnny Depp ‘for years.’

The actress also went on to detail a lengthy relationship with an unnamed man, who she claims put her through years of physical and emotional abuse, and controlled what she wore and ate.

Applegate, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021, recalled how her mother begged her to ‘get the f**k away from him.’

However, it was Skid Row rocker Sebastian Bach, now 57, that ended up getting her attention at the event; Bach pictured in 1989 

Applegate said Pitt was left to ‘sullenly’ drive her mother home after the show, and ‘didn’t talk’ to her ‘for many years’ 

‘I hate to put it like this, but Brad back then was still making his way as an actor, and he wasn’t yet THE Brad Pitt, the man of so many people’s dreams,’ she explained 

She ended up regretting her decision when she later found out that Bach was already dating someone and had a one-year-old child; Bach pictured in 1989

Elsewhere in her memoir she revealed how she’d been ‘in love’ with actor Johnny Depp ‘for years’; They are pictured in 1987

Meanwhile her onscreen father, Ed O’Neill, who played Al on the show, ‘hated’ the boyfriend to such an extent that she thought he might punch him.

The star had an abortion after becoming pregnant by the unnamed boyfriend in April 1991. 

She finally split from him after a fight during which he threw a cigarette lighter at her and poured a bottle of tequila down her throat. 

She went on to marry actor Johnathon Schaech in 2001, but they divorced in 2007.

Applegate then wed Dutch bassist Martyn LeNoble in 2013. They are parents to daughter Sadie, 15.

Applegate also opened up about her struggle with body dysmorphia and anorexia in her book, writing that she barely ate while starring on her hit 1980s TV show Married With Children. She played Kelly Bundy in all 11 seasons of the classic sitcom.

The TV star said her problems worsened by the time she played the promiscuous and rebellious teenager.

In an extract from her memoir shared by Vulture, she wrote: ‘I dug myself into a hole with that character, though, because I had to be skinny.’

‘I had a vision of the specific clothes I wanted her to wear, and to wear those clothes – clothes that would show if you ate something as tiny as a single grape – I had to lean even deeper into my eating disorder.’

The star also shared her struggle with anorexia in the book, writing that she barely ate while starring on 1980s TV show Married With Children; Pictured in a still with Ed O’Neill and David Faustino

Her memoir, You with the Sad Eyes, was released on Tuesday

The show aired from 1987 until 1997, when Applegate was in her teens and early twenties.

Applegate took drastic measures to control her weight, and ended up as little more than ‘bone, bone, bone,’ she said.

The blonde beauty added: ‘If I was going to eat something as horrendously huge as a bagel, say, I would scoop it out and maybe have half of it, or half of a half. That would be my food intake for an entire day.’

The star insisted she doesn’t blame the cast or crew for what occurred, and she doesn’t blame anyone for the ways the role impacted her mental health issues.

She said: ‘Sure, it was always part of the show that I would be an object for men to leer at, but I wanted to wear those Kelly Bundy dresses.’

‘And as hard as it may be to believe, I was genuinely innocent of my effect on people. I was just a kid. I knew my self‑denial of food and my generally damaging relationship with it were all trauma‑based.’

If you or someone you know suffers from an eating disorder, call the free helpline at ANAD at 1-888-375-7767.