EXCLUSIVE: Friends Rally Round Shattered Melissa Gilbert — 'Prairie' Pals and Family Help Her Navigate Timothy Busfield Child Abuse Scandal
Friends and family have been supporting Melissa Gilbert as 'Prairie' pals help her amid Timothy Busfield's abuse scandal.
April 19 2026, Published 8:00 a.m. ET
Devastated Melissa Gilbert is in pieces right now after husband Timothy Busfield turned himself in on child sex charges – and a source says she's leaning heavily on old Hollywood friends and costars, who are urging her to file for divorce and not look back, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Busfield, 68, denied he's a child predator after being charged by 11-year-old twin boys of alleged sex attacks while filming the Fox TV series The Cleaning Lady.
Many pals and former Little House on the Prairie costars Alison Arngrim and Dean Butler are standing by Gilbert as she tries to survive this humiliating horror.
Heartbreak For Melissa
Alison Arngrim and Dean Butler are supporting Melissa Gilbert as Timothy Busfield faces child sex charges.
"They're heartbroken that she's having to go through this," insisted an insider.
And while many believe that she should cut bait and move on from Busfield to avoid the stain of the allegations taking her down with him, many in their inner circle are convinced of his innocence.
In court, her hubby, who she wed in 2013, was charged and released on his own recognizance.
In a court filing, his lawyers presented audio of a police interview that they claim clears the actor of sexually abusing the underage twins.
Police Interview Details
Audio presented by Busfield's lawyers included police interviews with the twins during a 2024 investigation.
The child actors were interviewed by police in November 2024.
In the audio, an officer gently asks, "You know no one can touch your private areas?"
The boys respond by saying, "Yes," according to the audio.
The officer then asks if Busfield ever touches their private parts, which both the boys denied.
"But he didn't touch that part," one child responded to the officer in one clip.
'Absolutely Shattered'
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A judge released Busfield on his own recognizance, citing evidence that was not overwhelming.
The bail judge released Busfield, noting the evidence against him at the moment was not overwhelming, saying: "I don't find that there's been sufficient presentation that this defendant may commit new crimes if released pending trial."
Despite the encouraging evidence, an insider described Gilbert as "absolutely shattered."
"She says it feels like a bomb went off in the middle of her life and she's just standing there trying to work out what's left."
