Melissa Gilbert Moves From LA to a Catskills House, Battling Mice and Mold for a New Home

Melissa Gilbert, the main actress from Little House on the Prairie, chose a peaceful life with her husband, Timothy Busfield, far from the busy world of Hollywood. Today, we’re here to discover where she is at this moment.

Melissa Gilbert, the main actress from Little House on the Prairie, lives a quiet life with her husband, Timothy Busfield, away from the bright lights of Hollywood.

Their love story is quite unexpected. One day, they both ended up at the same bar, but they were there for different reasons. Busfield, an actor and director, just wanted a night to himself to watch sports and savor some pizza.

To his surprise, when he arrived at the bar, he found Melissa Gilbert sitting in his spot. But he didn’t have the confidence to strike up a conversation because he hadn’t dated in a while. Gilbert also mentioned that she didn’t usually go to bars by herself. On this particular night, she was out with a friend, and they had stopped by the bar while waiting for their intended destination to open.

On April 24, 2013, Gilbert and her husband, who was a star in the show Thirtysomething, got married in a private and romantic ceremony at the historic San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, California. Breaking from the usual white wedding dress tradition, Gilbert wore a beautiful strapless red wedding (the photo below).

Gilbert and her husband bought a cottage.

Back in 2019, Gilbert and her husband bought a cottage, but it was in pretty bad shape. They were hopeful and thought they could make the rundown cottage into a comfortable home with some hard work.

Once they managed to get rid of the mice and mold, the couple realized that they could make this place their home. Despite the additional challenges of no heating and plumbing problems, they were determined to make it work. They had to remove all the existing furniture from the house as well.

While they were waiting to install proper heating in the house, they introduced a wood stove to provide some warmth. To make the place more cozy, they brought in red vinyl chairs and a farm table. They also decided to repurpose cabinets and wood salvaged from a bowling alley to create floating shelves.

What made this house even more special was that Gilbert and her husband worked on it together.

In the past, Gilbert used to take charge of how their homes looked, but this time, Busfield wanted to be actively involved in the process. Gilbert recalled the experience of removing the deer heads from the wall, and it felt like a therapeutic journey through a lifetime. The house began to truly shine when they raised the kitchen ceiling and converted the loft into a music room.

Living on the outskirts of town also meant embracing a more natural lifestyle, such as growing various fruits and vegetables in their garden. Despite her deep affection for her prairie-style life, Gilbert admitted that it wasn’t without its challenges.

Melissa Gilbert starts her day at 7:00 a.m.

She enjoys her peaceful mornings with a calming cup of tea that almost feels like meditation (just like in the photo above). She also has some daily chores related to her chickens, like cleaning their coop and feeding her dogs.

Besides the quiet farm, Melissa loves the happy and harmonious life she shares with her husband. They agree on how to take care of things around their house, and that makes her really happy.

If you’re a fan of Melissa Gilbert like we are, we’d love for you to check out another article that explores her incredible journey. She’s made a courageous choice to age gracefully and without Botox, and we find her story truly inspiring.