Melissa Gilbert has deactivated multiple social media profiles amid reports that her husband, Timothy Busfield, is facing arrest for child sex abuse charges.
Anyone visiting Gilbert’s official Instagram or her Threads account on Saturday, January 10, received messages that neither page was available. The official Instagram account for Gilbert’s lifestyle brand, Modern Prairie, is still active and even posted a winter-themed video on Saturday wishing her followers a “happy Saturday.”
On Friday, January 9, Us Weekly obtained an arrest warrant issued by New Mexico authorities after a child actor accused Busfield of touching him inappropriately when they worked together on TV series The Cleaning Lady. (The accuser and his twin brother were child actors on the show while Busfield directed multiple episodes.)
Us has reached out to Busfield and Gilbert for comment.
Timothy Busfield Admitted There Was ‘No Protocol’ for Touching Kids on Set
The accuser alleged that Busfield inappropriately touched his “private areas” for the first time when he was 7 years old, though there were allegedly three to four incidents in total. The child actor recalled that Busfield later touched him five or six more times in a separate incident when he turned 8. (The child’s mother reported to Child Protective Services that the alleged offenses occurred between late 2022 and the second half of 2024.)
“[The boy] was afraid to tell anyone because Tim was the director, and he feared Tim would get mad at him,” an affidavit from the Albuquerque Police Department read.
The affidavit includes references to the child actor being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety due to the alleged trauma.
According to the documents, Busfield spoke to investigations about the allegations in November 2025. The director was allegedly asked in that conversation whether he’d had “physical contact” with the children, such as picking them up or tickling them.
“Timothy said it was highly likely that he would have,” the police affidavit read, though Busfield insisted there “would never be a weird moment about it” and any contact would have occurred “in front of the parents.”
However, the affidavit also mentioned that Busfield told authorities that he did not specifically recall picking up the boys at any time during production.
“I don’t remember those boys,” he said, per the affidavit. “No, I don’t. I don’t actually, I don’t remember it, if it happened. I don’t remember overtly tickling the boys ever, but it wouldn’t be uncommon for me.”
In Busfield’s warrant, there is a reference to the actor and director telling Officer Marvin Brown that he and Gilbert, 61, bought “the two boys Christmas gifts and were together [at] several social functions.” Officer Brown reported that Busfield “invite[d] the family to off-set gatherings, with his wife buying Christmas gifts to foster closeness.”
The officer indicated that such behavior could be an example of “classic grooming to erode boundaries, isolate the victim, and silence suspicions by blending abuse into normalcy.”
Mere weeks before the warrant for her husband was issued, Gilbert addressed the topic of sexual abuse via her Instagram on November 15, 2025. (Gilbert was responding to the “I Was 15” social media movement, which started after Megyn Kelly argued that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein “was into the barely legal type,” thus seemingly insinuating that he may not have truly been a pedophile.)
“So, I debated posting this but, I feel compelled to share. After seeing many women’s posts with the hashtags #iwasfifteen #imfifteen #iwasachild, I decided to google search myself at what age and see what came up,” she wrote. “And this is some of what I found…and now, at this age, at this time, I am actually nauseated.”
Gilbert shared photos of herself at age 15 on the set of Little House on the Prairie alongside costar Dean Butler, a then 23-year-old actor who played her character’s love interest.
“The girl on vacation in Hawaii with her family is the same girl who was expected ‘to fall in love with’ and kiss a man on film who was several years older than she was,” Gilbert wrote. “Through the lens of today, this is shocking. I have no words other than to say, ‘I WAS A CHILD.’ ‘I WAS FIFTEEN.’ And I was the good news.”
She went on, “Thank God my mom and Michael and so many others were there to make sure I was safe. Can you imagine if I hadn’t had them all? I am so fortunate (Sort of). Many other young women aren’t.”
More recently, Gilbert shared an anonymous cryptic quote about injustice via Instagram on January 5.
Melissa Gilbert and Husband Timothy Busfield’s Relationship Timeline
“You seem to have a mistaken discomfort for injustice,” the message read, alongside hashtags for “Fragility,” “You Know Who You Are” and “That’s Right, I’m Looking at You.”
In the comments section, Gilbert explained that her post was about “playing the victim and blaming others.”
“It’s about not taking accountability for your own situation,” she stated. “It’s about being a big whiny baby. I saw this quote and it struck me. … have a particularly hard time with people who play the victim. Own your s***. Step up. It’s all pretty general. Has nothing to do with politics but everything to do with privilege, attitude and weakness.”
Gilbert never specified exactly what she was referring to in the Instagram post, though news broke four days later about her husband’s arrest warrant.
Busfield and Gilbert have been married since 2013. (Gilbert was previously married to actors Bo Brinkman and Bruce Boxleitner, while Busfield was married twice before as well, to Radha Delamarter and Jennifer Merwin.)
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
