Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield first met at a bar in 2012 and married a year later
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Busfield first met the Little House on the Prairie star at a bar in 2012 and was won over by her smile.
“It sounds cliché to say it, but it really was like getting hit with a thunderbolt,” Gilbert told PEOPLE in September 2024, recalling the night she met her future husband. “It just seemed right and inevitable. The next morning when I woke up, my first thought was, ‘I’m going to marry him,’ and then my next thought was, ‘You’re a crazy person.’ ”
But she was right, and on April 24, 2013, the couple tied the knot. “Across the board, we were just equals in everything,” Busfield told PEOPLE.
Prior to getting married, both were twice divorced and had children from previous marriages. Gilbert — who was married to Bo Brinkman from 1988–1994 and Bruce Boxleitner from 1995-2011 — has two adult sons, Dakota and Michael. Meanwhile, Busfield has three children: Samuel, Daisy and Wilson.
Today, the couple shares a rustic cabin on 14 acres in the Catskill Mountains of New York. “This is what I’ve always wanted,” Gilbert said.
From their California wedding to the simple life they’ve chosen in the Catskills, here’s a complete timeline of Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield’s relationship.
2012: Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield meet in a bar
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Busfield first spotted Gilbert when he walked into an empty bar. He told PEOPLE, “That was my drill, at eight o’clock, there was a bar right across from the Universal Studios that would open at eight and nobody would ever be in there. And then at 10 o’clock it would turn into a club. I would have the bar to myself for the first 45 minutes and I’d watch some sports and have a slice.”
“I remember so clearly grabbing pizza and then looking in the door to make sure there wasn’t a lot going on,” Busfield added. “There was one person sitting at the bar and she had a fedora on, and I couldn’t tell who it was, but I knew it was problematic. And it’d been about eight months I hadn’t been on a date, and I was so happy, and I was spooning with my pillow and really enjoying going to bed not involved in a relationship.”
However, his mind soon changed. After he introduced himself to Gilbert, the pair talked all night. “I knew she was the one. It felt so real,” Busfield said.
December 2012: Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield get engaged
Busfield and Gilbert got engaged over the holidays that same year. In January 2013, Gilbert’s rep confirmed the engagement to PEOPLE, stating, “They are engaged and both are incredibly happy.”
April 24, 2013: Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield tie the knot
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On April 24, 2013, Gilbert wed married the Thirtysomething star in a romantic private ceremony at the historic San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, California, their rep told PEOPLE.
Departing from the traditional white, Gilbert wore an elegant strapless red wedding gown by Morgane le Fay.
January 24, 2014: Melissa Gilbert shares that she intends to wear her wedding dress again
Gilbert apparently loved her wedding dress so much that she told PEOPLE she definitely plans on wearing it again. “It hangs in my closet. I’ll wear it again. I’ll repurpose it,” she said at the time.
When asked if she would make modifications to the dress, Gilbert replied, “I don’t know if I’ll restyle it because it’s perfect the way it is. If we have to come back to L.A. and walk a carpet at some point, I will wear that.”
It wasn’t hard for Gilbert to choose her wedding dress either. She said, “I wouldn’t wear white the third time around, and I saw that dress and I thought, ‘Of course that’s what I’m going to wear.’ “
2018: Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield move to New York City
After living in Busfield’s hometown of Howell, Michigan for five years following their wedding, Gilbert and Busfield moved to New York City in 2018. They made their home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
January 2019: Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield buy a house in the Catskills
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In 2019, Gilbert and Busfield felt the need to get away from the hustle and bustle of The Big Apple and get some fresh air. “It became important for us to have a place where we could escape,” Gilbert told The New York Times,
They found the right place, but it was a fixer-upper. When they purchased the home in Highland Lake, N.Y., it had peeling stucco and detritus inside left behind from the previous owner. They also had to deal with mice, mold and mildew.
“This is one of those places that most people would say, ‘Are you nuts?’ if you expressed interest in buying it,” Gilbert said. “But Tim and I are the best kind of nuts. We’re hopeful visionaries. We knew this house would shelter us well and serve us well.”
When they closed on the home in January 2019, the couple called it “the cabbage,” a combination of the words “cabin” and “cottage.” They then went about remodeling. As Gilbert said, “In my opinion, a house is never finished. It’s always a work in progress.”
April 24, 2019: Melissa Gilbert shares sweet post about the couple’s 6th wedding anniversary
To celebrate six years of marriage to Busfield, Gilbert posted a sweet tribute to her husband on Instagram.
“Six years ago today, I married my soulmate,” she wrote in the caption. “I have never been more content, more cherished, or happier. Every day, even the difficult ones, is filled with a joy I never could have imagined. I love you, my sweet husband. Happy anniversary.”
March 2020: Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield start a podcast together
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June 9, 2021: Melissa Gilbert shares that she and Timothy Busfield are proud grandparents to new baby Ripley
Gilbert was elated when her son from her previous marriage, Dakota Brinkman, and his wife, Marissa, had a daughter named Ripley on June 8, 2021. Gilbert announced the news on Instagram and shared that she and Busfield are “Nana” and “Papa” to Ripley.
She also expressed how proud she was of her son and Marissa. “She was a warrior through the whole process, and he was the perfect partner to her. Next up, traveling to Texas to meet our new granddaughter,” Gilbert wrote.
November 2021: Timothy Busfield drives from New York to Chicago to drop off winter clothes for Melissa Gilbert
In a sweet romantic gesture, Busfield drove all the way from New York City to Chicago — where Gilbert was working on the play When Harry Met Rehab — on a mission to drop off his wife’s winter clothes. Gilbert wrote about the experience in a repost on Instagram and said it spoke volumes about who Busfield is.
February 14, 2022: Melissa Gilbert wishes Timothy Busfield a happy Valentine’s Day
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Gilbert went with a cute humorous post for Valentine’s Day in 2022. She posted a photo of Busfield with several chicks from the brood they are raising on their land in the Catskills. She captioned the post, “This is my Valentine. He’s a real chick magnet,” as the little birds rested on Busfield’s chest.
March 12, 2022: Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield adopt a rescue dog
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Gilbert announced on her Instagram that she and Busfield had adopted an adorable puppy they named Chicago from the Anti-Cruelty Society. She shared that the eight-week-old puppy is a Labrador mix and that she has the “cutest stubby tail ever.”
Gilbert added that she couldn’t wait to take the puppy back to their home in the Catskills.
April 24, 2022: Timothy Busfield dedicates a song to Melissa Gilbert for their 9th wedding anniversary
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The couple celebrated nine years of marriage in 2022. Gilbert shared with her Instagram followers her delight with her anniversary gift from Busfield. “Nine years ago today,” she wrote alongside a wedding photo. “The traditional 9th anniversary gift is pottery. He gave me a lovely Roseville vase to add to my collection. I made him an oblong plate to hold his keys, glasses etc.”
She continued, “THEN….he played his guitar and sang me the song he’d written for me. The song is titled Never Gonna Let You Go.” She called the gesture the most “extraordinary gift” anyone had ever given her.
May 10, 2022: Melissa Gilbert opens up about her marriage to Timothy Busfield in her new book, Back to the Prairie: A Home Remade, A Life Discovered
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Gilbert’s latest book, Back to the Prairie: A Home Remade, A Life Discovered, was released on May 10, 2022. In the book, she talked about the natural lifestyle she chose to lead with Busfield in the Catskill Mountains.
When Gilbert was promoting the book, she told PEOPLE, “I grew up in an industry that values the outside considerably more than the inside, and I was caught in that wheel of trying to stay young.”
She admitted she once felt pressured to get plastic surgery, fillers and Botox. However, after marrying Busfield, she decided to embrace a more natural look. “I cut off all my hair and quit doing Botox and all that stuff,” she said of her decision, which Busfield strongly supported. “I was always trying too hard to fit the mold that someone else wanted. I’m finally happy in my own skin. I’m so grateful and relieved and so much happier,” she added.
The couple also moved to Howell, Michigan, at the time, which “reawakened” her “love for the outdoors” and eventually led to the couple calling the Catskills home.
June 19, 2022: Melissa Gilbert honors Timothy Busfield on Father’s Day
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Although Gilbert and Busfield don’t share any kids together, Gilbert honored him and the rest of their blended family in a touching Father’s Day post on Instagram. She wrote about the experience of losing her own father at a young age and added, “THIS year however, as I put this post together, I see all of the incredible fathers who are in my life now. Seeing how much they each love their children is so incredibly healing for me.”
She then gave Busfield, her son and her two step-sons a shoutout and shared a series of pictures, including one of her and Busfield sitting in front of their growing family.
November 10, 2022: Melissa Gilbert celebrates the 10-year anniversary of meeting Timothy Busfield
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Gilbert posted an Instagram tribute to her husband in November 2022 commemorating the 10-year anniversary of when they first met.
“Ten years ago today I was in LA, out with my GBF @danielrobbhaircare when I re-met @timbusfield whom I had not seen in about twenty years,” she wrote in the caption. “I was instantly, completely and madly besotted and remain completely and madly besotted to this day.”
