Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert married Timothy Busfield of Thirtysomething fame back in 2013. For both actors, it was their third marriage. In the Laura Ingalls actor’s latest memoir, Back to the Prairie, she writes about how Busfield is different from her past partners.
Busfield supports Gilbert
Even after the couple’s honeymoon phase, Gilbert “reveled in the respect” her third husband showed her. She knew from the beginning that their love was different from her past relationships. But it seems Busfield was different, too.
“Before Tim, I always felt like I had to make my own abilities and accomplishments smaller to allow the men I was with to feel confident, bigger, macho, and in control,” wrote Gilbert. “Tim was different. Instead of feeling threatened by a strong, outspoken, capable woman, he encouraged me to meet each day fearlessly. He found it validating that I would want to be with him.”
A partner who supports her fully and celebrates who she is and what she’s capable of was not something Gilbert was accustomed to. But she quickly realized just how much that kind of love can add to her life.
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“For me, that was something new, wonderful, refreshing,” she wrote. “I felt empowered to do and say anything. I was free to be myself. There was trust, and there was love.”
Melissa Gilbert’s previous husbands
Gilbert was married twice before ending up with Busfield. Her first husband was Bo Brinkman, whom she married in 1988. They had a rocky relationship, to say the least. In her first memoir, Prairie Tale, Gilbert writes about how Brinkman cheated on her, spent her money, and blamed her for his failed career. They divorced in 1994. Together they have one child: Dakota Brinkman.
Gilbert’s second husband was Bruce Boxleitner, of How the West Was Won. They met through Boxleitner’s ex-wife. They married in 1995 and divorced in 2011. In Back to the Prairie, Gilbert touches on her divorce from Boxleitner, writing that it was amicable. Even after everything was said and done, she and Boxleitner “walked away friends.” As for the reason the actors split: they had already been drifting apart when Gilbert broke her back and couldn’t help but realize a distinct lack of care and support from her then-husband. It was that incident that got the Laura Ingalls actor thinking about a divorce. During their time together, Gilbert and Boxleitner had one son: Michael Boxleitner.
Who Timothy Busfield was married to before Melissa Gilbert
Prior to marrying Gilbert, Busfield was married to Radha Delamarter and Jenny Merwin. He married Radha Delamarter, an actor known for Lucky Luke in 1981. They divorced in 1986. Busfield’s second wife was Jenny Merwin. They married in 1988 and divorced in 2007. Merwin filed papers citing irreconcilable differences as the cause, as reported by TMZ. Busfield has three children: Willy, Daisy, and Sam.
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