Inside Timothy Busfield and Melissa Gilbert's Relationship: Everything to Know as Actor Faces Child Sexual Abuse Allegations

Timothy Busfield and Melissa Gilbert's marriage is facing a public test amid the child sexual abuse allegations against the actor.

Before finding love with each other, both had gone through failed marriages. Busfield was first married to Radha Delamarter from 1981 to 1986, and then to Jenny Merwin from 1988 to 2007. Meanwhile, Gilbert was previously married to Bo Brinkman from 1988 to 1994 and Bruce Boxleitner from 1995 to 2011.

Keep scrolling to learn more about their relationship as Busfield faces an ongoing legal battle.

The couple crossed paths again at a bar in 2012.

The Little House on the Prairie star reflected on their meeting in a since-deleted November 2022 post, writing, "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. I was instantly, completely and madly besotted and remain completely and madly besotted to this day."

Speaking with People, Busfield revealed the bar was across the Universal Studios that would open at 8 p.m.

"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," he said. "I remember so clearly grabbing pizza and then looking in the door to make sure there wasn't a lot going on."

He eventually gathered the courage to speak to Gilbert, and they immediately hit it off.

"I knew she was the one," Busfield said. "It felt so real."

Meanwhile, Gilbert likened meeting Busfield to "getting hit with a thunderbolt."

"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,'" she shared.

After a few months of dating, the Field of Dreams actor popped the question to Gilbert during the holidays.

Busfield and Gilbert exchanged vows in a private ceremony at the San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, Calif., on April 24, 2013.

The Diary of Anne Frank star moved in with Busfield in Michigan after their wedding, though they relocated to New York City in 2018.

"It became important for us to have a place where we could escape," Gilbert told The New York Times in January 2019. "His is one of those places that most people would say, 'Are you nuts?' if you expressed interest in buying it. 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."

Gilbert marked their sixth wedding anniversary in a 2019 Instagram post, sharing photos from the ceremony alongside the caption, "Six years ago today, I married my soulmate. 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."

Busfield and Gilbert decided to start their eponymous "Gilbert & Busfield" podcast in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Its last episode aired in September 2020.

In a July 2025 episode of Jennie Garth's "I Choose Me" podcast, Gilbert revealed what keeps her marriage to Busfield strong.

"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 explained. "And so there are no decisions that are made singularly."

Gilbert continued, "Everything is discussed, shared, and there's so much comfort in that, and it's so much gentler and easier. 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."

Their marriage was put to the test when Busfield was charged with two counts of sexual contact of a minor and child abuse in January. In the criminal complaint, the parents of two boys who appeared on The Cleaning Lady accused the actor-director of touching the children multiple times on the set of the Fox series between November 2022 and the spring of 2024.

The Albuquerque Police Department issued an arrest warrant on January 9. Busfield turned himself in around 2:30 p.m. on January 13, and he was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque.

"He wants to turn himself in because he wants to clear his name and reputation," Busfield's attorney, Larry Stein, said in a statement. "He didn't do anything wrong. These accusations are false as the investigator from the independent law firm found."

Stein has also repeatedly maintained Busfield's innocence since the case began.

Meanwhile, Gilbert told Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos that the development was the "most traumatizing experience of [their] lives."

"[He's] the last person in the world who would hurt a child," she pointed out. "And believe me, if I thought for a second that Tim Busfield hurt a child, he'd have a lot more to worry about than prison."

Another bombshell allegation accused Busfield of groping a 16-year-old girl while auditioning at Sacramento's B Street Theatre several years earlier. The document alleged Busfield "kissed her, put his hands down her pants and touched her privates."

Amid the accusations, Busfield was released on the evening of January 20 pending trial on child sexual abuse charges. He was then indicted on four child sexual abuse charges on February 6, though he has since filed a motion on June 18 asking a New Mexico court to dismiss his indictment.

"The state has abdicated its role of administering justice and instead pursued an indictment against Mr. Busfield at the cost of evidence, Mr. Busfield's rights, and the independence and integrity of the grand jury," the filing stated.

In a June 22 Instagram update, Gilbert announced she had moved out of her New York City apartment after living at the property for eight years. She did not disclose the reasons for moving.