Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield Handled a ‘Speed Bump’ in Their Marriage With 4 Months of Couples Therapy

Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield have been married for 10 years. Today, the actors live a peaceful life together in the Catskills. But, as with every relationship, the couple has experienced a few “speed bumps” in their union along the way.  

Four months of couples therapy helped Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield through a rough patch  

In Gilbert’s 2022 memoir, Back to the Prairie, the former Laura Ingalls actor writes that she and Busfield were “a perfect match.” But there was one point in their marriage where “some old stuff” started to come up for the couple. This occurred shortly after they made the move to New York from Michigan. 

“It reared its ugly head, which we recognized immediately and dealt with by seeing a wonderful marriage counselor, whose office was about fifteen blocks from our apartment,” wrote Gilbert. “We saw her once a week for three or four months, and when we ran out of relationship stuff to talk about and began trading travel tips, we knew that we were finished.”

The Little House alum calls the three to four months of therapy “time well spent.” 

“We had learned so much more about each other, we had built an even deeper level of trust and intimacy, and we emerged even closer than before,” she wrote. “When it comes to making love work, you must be fearless, and we were. 

When Gilbert ran for Congress 

Another rough point in the couple’s marriage occurred when Gilbert decided to run for Congress. When the actor decided to throw her hat in the ring, she and Busfield had only been married for about two years. The hours were long and arduous, and the couple was forced to spend a lot of time away from each other. On top of that, Busfield had always hated politics. So it wasn’t the easiest lifestyle adjustment for him. If that weren’t enough, Gilbert’s campaign team was sometimes disrespectful of Busfield’s contributions.  

“I also didn’t like the way some people on my team were rudely dismissive of Tim’s suggestions,” she wrote. “They’d shoot down his ideas and leave it to me to tell him.”

The good with the bad

The whole experience produced some strenuous moments for Gilbert and Busfield. But it also pushed them to work together as a team. 

“Not surprisingly, we had some of the tensest moments of our marriage during the campaign,” wrote Gilbert. “At the same time, we shared some experiences that only underscored why we loved each other. Meeting new people with him was a pleasure. If they hated me, they were charmed by him.”

In the end, Gilbert took herself out of the running due to health concerns. Initially, she was devastated. But some distance from the campaign showed her that it was all for the best.   

“The chickens, the gardening, the shooing of bears, and the rest of country life that awaited me would not have been possible if things had turned out differently,” she wrote. “I have a feeling my marriage might not have survived, either.”