Melissa Gilbert shared a makeup-free Instagram selfie on Saturday, May 16, pointing followers to her Modern Prairie community, as her husband Timothy Busfield faces child sex abuse charges. The post lands after Gilbert told police that accusations against Busf
When Melissa Gilbert stepped into her Instagram feed Saturday, May 16, she did it without makeup and without filters—just a caption aimed at women who keep showing up, even when life turns brutal.
The “Little House on the Prairie” star. 62. posted a makeup-free selfie that morning. tagged her lifestyle company and digital community for women. Modern Prairie. and told followers she was accepting her app’s challenge. “Ok @officialmodernprairie so many women posted photos on our app. I’ll accept the challenge and bring it here to IG. ” she wrote. She added: “This is me. No make up. Early morning. Jammies. No filter. Definitely getting into the picture of my life today. So much more to come.” She closed with hashtags including “#getinthepicture #wecandohardthings #keepmovingforward #nevergiveup lovelifeevenwhenitshard.”.
Behind the upbeat tone was the weight of a case growing darker in the background. Gilbert has posted sparingly on social media since Busfield was charged on Jan. 9 with child sex abuse and arrested soon after in connection with allegations of abusing minors on the set of Fox’s “The Cleaning Lady.” A New Mexico grand jury indicted him on Feb. 6 on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child.
Gilbert has stayed by Busfield’s side throughout the legal process, pleading for her husband’s innocence. She turned the comments off on the Instagram post. Gilbert and Busfield have been married since 2013.
In an earlier interview, Gilbert described the aftermath as something she still can’t shake. In an April 6 “Good Morning America” appearance. she said the arrest and everything that followed was “the most traumatizing experience of our lives.” “Our life. as we knew it. is done. ” she told George Stephanopoulos. “We are grieving what we had. All of our plans, all of our dreams, all of our ideas, all of our projects − for Tim, it’s done. He’s canceled. Even if he’s exonerated, he will always be that guy.”.
She also told police—according to audio obtained by the outlet—that the accusations were “cruel” and “vindictive.” In that same body of remarks. she said she never doubted Busfield’s innocence. “If I thought for a second that Tim Busfield hurt a child. he’d have a lot more to worry about than prison. ” she added.
In the same remarks, Gilbert said she knows her husband “in my bones,” telling the interviewer: “No one knows him better than I do. I know literally everything about him.” She described him as “an honorable, caring, generous human being” and said she was “100% confident he will be exonerated.”
The May 16 selfie came shortly after Gilbert’s first social media post since the indictment. On May 13, she shared an Instagram update promoting a Modern Prairie campaign, writing: “[That’s] right. I’m back.”
Taken together—the positivity of the selfie, the shut-off comments, her vow that she believes in his innocence, and her language calling the accusations “cruel” and “vindictive”—the picture is clear: Gilbert is choosing a public message of endurance while Busfield’s legal fight continues to unfold.
Melissa Gilbert Timothy Busfield child sex abuse charges Instagram Modern Prairie indictment criminal sexual contact of a child Fox The Cleaning Lady