Melissa Gilbert Said Being a Grandparent with Husband Timothy Busfield Was ‘Absolutely Heavenly’ in 2023 Interview

Melissa Gilbert told PEOPLE in an exclusive 2023 interview that being a grandparent alongside husband Timothy Busfield was “heavenly.”

Speaking from the couple’s home on a 14-acre farm in the Catskills, she said of grandparenthood, “it’s absolutely heavenly because I have, as a grandparent, I’m going to speak for both of us. As grandparents, Tim and I can relax in the knowledge that we’ve done all of this, so there’s no stress. I’m not stressed at all. I’m watching a hawk. I had the two-year-old by myself in the pool. That was exhausting. I took an hour nap after that. But we’re both really relaxed with them, and we can just play and have fun and give them back.”

She added, “So at the end of the day, we’re still getting our sleep and taking our time, because there is a reason you have children when you’re young. It is physically devastating to spend more than four or five hours with a two-year-old. It’s like taking seven Bikram yoga glasses back to back in the sweaty room.”

In a jarring turn of events, an arrest warrant issued by the Albuquerque Police Department and obtained by PEOPLE on Friday, Jan. 9, alleges that Busfield engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with 11-year-old twin brothers on the set of FOX’s The Cleaning Lady, with one of the minors alleging that the incidents began when he was 7 years old. 

Representatives for Gilbert and Busfield have not replied to requests for comment. During an investigation, Busfield allegedly told police that the parents were upset their sons had been replaced with a younger actor who auditioned, according to the warrant. Shortly after, Busfield got a call from Warner Bros., informing him they were investigating a complaint.

In a statement to PEOPLE, a Warner Bros. Television representative said, “The health and safety of our cast and crew is always our top priority, especially the safety of minors on our productions. We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have systems in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate, and when needed, take appropriate action.”

“[We] have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement,” the spokesperson added.

Throughout the years, Gilbert often described Busfield as a loving father and husband. Since tying the knot in a small ceremony in Santa Barbara in 2013, The Little House on the Prairie actress, 61, and the West Wing actor, 68, shared numerous glimpses of their happy family life together, including their eight grandchildren through their blended family. 

Read on for more of what Gilbert and Busfield have previously said about their life together.

Gilbert shared the secret to keeping their marriage strong for over a decade

Not long after celebrating 12 years of marriage, Gilbert revealed her secret to a long-lasting marriage while speaking to host Jennie Garth on her I Choose Me podcast. 

“I think it’s part and parcel of the fact that it’s a partnership, that we do everything with the other one in mind, and we are very considerate of one another and we respect each other immensely,” she said during the July 29 episode. “And so there are no decisions that are made singularly.”

“Everything is discussed, shared, and there’s so much comfort in that, and it’s so much gentler and easier,” she added. “I mean, you know, we all have our moments, but they’re so few and far between with both of us. Even our arguments are constructive.”

Gilbert celebrated 12 years of marriage with her “favorite person”

On the couple’s 12th wedding anniversary on April 24, Gilbert shared a sweet tribute to Busfield on social media. 

“12 years of true partnership, love, laughter, compassion, commitment, passion, laughter, cooking, kids, grandchildren, chickens, dogs, creating homes, films, plays, television,” she wrote alongside a throwback photo of the pair on their wedding day. “12 years of writing together, traveling, cuddling, delicious meals, romantic getaways, spooning, reflecting, meditating, praying.”

“12 years of baseball, yoga, dance class,” she continued. “12 years of adventure, comfort, care and synergy. 12 years married. 12 perfect years with my favorite person, who has my favorite face and my favorite soul.  How lucky I am.  I love you @timbusfield. Happy anniversary.”

Gilbert compared meeting Busfield to “getting hit” with a “thunderbolt”

During a September 2025 interview with PEOPLE, Gilbert revealed that she met Busfield while on her way to a Los Angeles bar in 2012. And while it wasn’t necessarily love at first sight, it didn’t take long for her to realize that they were meant to be together. 

“It sounds cliché to say it, but it really was like getting hit with a thunderbolt,” she explained at the time, adding, “It just seemed right and inevitable. … The next morning when I woke up, my first thought was, ‘I’m going to marry him,’ and I then my next thought was, ‘You’re a crazy person.’”

“Then I thought, ‘Well, why don’t we start with brunch?’ and I grabbed my phone, and I went to text him to ask if he wanted to meet. He texted me [at the same time] and asked if I wanted to meet for brunch,” she continued. “That’s when I thought, ‘Maybe I’m not so crazy. Maybe this is right.’  We met for brunch, and I knew … It just made sense.”

Gilbert delighted in the 14-acre farm and the eight grandchildren she shares with Busfield

While discussing aging and menopause with PEOPLE in November 2023, Gilbert said that she finds joy in the simple things in life — like maintaining the couple’s farm in the Catskills. 

“We just love doing our silly little chores together, like cleaning out the chicken coop, and making sure they have their treats, and playing with the dogs,” she said at the time. “We play a lot of backgammon. We cook together. And really, we just like to sit next to each other in a room no matter where we are. We just really enjoy being together.”

She also made it clear that she’d choose spending time with her grandkids over maintaining a “size 2” figure any day. 

“That’s not what my life is right now,” she said. “It’s attainable, but it’s fleeting. You have to keep it up. I did that in my 20s, and I don’t have the wherewithal to do it anymore. If that’s what you want to do with your time, great. I’d rather get down in a sandbox and play with my grandchildren.”

Busfield said he wasn’t looking for love when he met Gilbert, but immediately knew “she was the one”

In May 2022, the actor told PEOPLE that he was coming off of his second divorce in 2012 when he spotted Gilbert sitting in an empty bar that he frequented. 

“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,” he recalled at the time. “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. 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,” he continued. “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.”

But before long, Busfield found himself striking up a conversation with the actress, who was also coming off of two divorces, and they ended up talking all night. 

“I knew she was the one,” he emphasized. “It felt so real.”