- Star of “Little House on the Prairie” Melissa Gilbert celebrated, in 2023, 10 years of marriage with Timothy Busfield.
- The actress showed off her show-stopping red wedding dress.
- Before her happily ever after, she got her heart broken a few times and lost a child in the process.
Melissa Gilbert celebrated her 10th wedding anniversary with her husband, Timothy Busfield. The “Little House on the Prairie” star shared her famous photo from her wedding, and her red wedding dress was once again the center of the conversation.
Fans congratulated the actress and her husband on their milestone. The photo of Gilbert passionately looking into her husband’s eyes with her hand around his neck had fans calling them “a match made in heaven.” Another added, “This picture has feeling and heart.”
This was the actress’ third marriage, and her followers were happy she finally found the love of her life. However, the real head-turner was her scarlet wedding dress. Fans expressed how “sexy” Gilbert looked and that the color suited her and highlighted her hair. “I love the dress. You are stunning,” gushed a commenter.
Gilbert revealed that she searched for a long time to find her dress, but the minute she saw it, she knew it was the one. “… the color spoke volumes. Passion, fire, love. Red says all of those things to me,” said the actress.
Besides how different the dress was from a traditional wedding dress, Gilbert said it would forever symbolize great memories with her husband.
Gilbert and Busfiled’s Love Story
When Gilbert met Busfield, she had no intentions of dating or marrying again since she already had two marriages that ended in divorce. The two met the old-fashioned way. “I picked him up at a bar,” said the actress as she shared the story.
That night, Gilbert and her friends had planned a night out of dancing and decided to kill time at a nearby bar. But her friends had to return home to retrieve a phone, and Gilbert stayed behind at the bar.
That same bar turned out to be the go-to place for Busfield after a day of directing. She remembered he walked in with a pizza box, sat beside her, and their love story began. It was love at first sight, according to the actress.
From the moment the two started talking, Busfield said, “I knew she was the one.” Gilbert will also never forget her husband telling her, “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to,” which was important because she was never given those options as a child actor.
One of Gilbert’s Biggest Dating Heartbreaks
Gilbert grew up on television and is famous for her role in “Little House on the Prairie.” One of her first boyfriends was the son of Michael Landon, who played her father in the hit TV series.
Timothy Busfield and Melissa Gilbert in New York, 2020 | Source: Getty Images
But their relationship ended, and Gilbert started dating Rob Lowe when she was 17. Their connection was instant, and they became a couple after their first date. “I fell instantly, hopelessly and stupidly in love,” she admitted.
Rob Lowe and actress Melissa Gilbert in New York, 1989 | Source: Getty Images
However, the actress found out she was pregnant, and when she broke the news to Lowe, he admitted that he was not ready to become a father.
Bruce Boxleitner & Melissa Gilbert in New York, 1994 | Source: Getty Images
Their relationship ended, but sadly, Gilbert suffered a miscarriage and lost her child in the process too. “It hurt like hell,” she said.
Bruce Boxleitner & Melissa Gilbert in Los Angles in 2012 | Source: Getty Images
After that heartbreak, she went to marry Bo Brinkman, and together they welcomed a son, Dakota. However, Brinkman was rumored to have had several affairs, leading to the end of their union.
Her second husband was Bruce Boxleitner, and they tied the knot in 1995, but after 16 years of marriage, the couple went their separate ways.
Gilbert’s Happily Ever After
Though life has not been smooth for Gilbert, she said she would change nothing about it. But her husband has also been a motivating force whenever she wishes things to be different. Busfield reminded her they might have never crossed paths if her life had been different.
The actress is now embracing life out of the city. Although she misses her family in Los Angeles, there are several other things she’s happy to live without, like pollution, traffic, and city life.
Gilbert is enjoying the slow placed life and feels at peace with not constantly looking for something to do. “I’ve really embraced this lovely stillness in my existence … And I am not chasing after some elusive thing, whether it’s a success or a job or money or things. I’m really just enjoying the sweet simplicity of my life.” she expressed.
As the cherry on top, Gilbert is grateful to share her life with her husband and hopes to inspire others that a happy ending is possible.
She wrote a sweet caption for Busfield expressing how lucky she was to wake up next to him and spend her life with a “kind, talented, compassionate sexy and hilarious” human being.
For Mother’s Day, she shared another adorable picture of her and Busfiled kissing and said she was spending the day with “the love of my life.”
Although Gilbert misses her family in Los Angeles, she loves it when her grandchildren visit and get a taste of the prairie life.
