Timothy Busfield Edited Out of Amazon MGM's Rom-Com 'You Deserve Each Other' Amid Disgraced Actor's Child Sex Abuse Charges
Timothy Busfield already filmed his part in the Amazon MGM rom-com prior to his legal woes.
Jan. 19 2026, Published 8:13 p.m. ET
Accused child s-- predator Timothy Busfield has been edited out of an upcoming Amazon MGM Studios rom-com in the wake of being charged with two counts of criminal s------ contact of a minor and one count of child abuse, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Busfield, 68, has maintained his innocence, and his lawyer called the claims by a pair of twin boys who worked alongside him on Fox's The Cleaning Lady "completely false."
Busfield Loses Out on Rom-Com
Timothy Busfield's role in 'You Deserve Each Other' is being editing out.
While the film isn't listed on Busfield's IMDb.com page, he is billed as the top star in You Deserve Each Other, based on the 2020 book by Sarah Hogle.
The rom-com "follows an engaged couple who has fallen out of love and try to sabotage each other into calling off their wedding, only to fall back in love in the process," the flick's IMDb.com page reads, with Busfield as the top star alongside Kyle MacLachlan and Natalie Morales.
The movie also stars You's Penn Badgley, White Lotus alum Meghann Fahey and actor Justin Long. While it was due out sometime in 2026, the film's release date hasn't been set and will likely need to be pushed back to edit out any trace of Busfield, who played Bernie Duncan, the father of Badgley's character Nicholas Rose.
'I’m Going to be Exonerated'
Timothy Busfield claimed he didn't turn himself in right away because he needed to get a lawyer and drive to New Mexico.
Busfield set off a law enforcement hunt after he failed to turn himself in to the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department in New Mexico, despite a warrant for his arrest being issued on January 9.
The Thirtysomething alum finally surrendered to authorities on January 13, after first filming a video at his lawyer's office in which he professed his innocence.
"I got the call Friday night, I had to get a lawyer," Busfield told fans in the video about his tardiness. "Saturday, I got in a car and drove 2,000 miles to Albuquerque."
"They're horrible. They're all lies. And I did not do anything to those little boys. And I’m going to fight it," The West Wing alum professed. One of the twins alleges that Busfield touched his genitals multiple times on the set of The Cleaning Lady.
"I'm going to fight it with a great team, and I’m going to be exonerated. I know I am. Because this is all so wrong and all lies," Busfield declared before signing off.
'My Sweet Husband'
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Timothy Busfield and actress Melissa Gilbert have been married since April 2013.
Busfield's disappearance following the arrest warrant being issued triggered a massive manhunt that stretched as far as New York State, where a team of US Marshals and members of the New York Regional Fugitive Task Force broke down the door of the vacation home he shares with his wife, Melissa Gilbert.
At the time of the raid that was looking for the on-the-lam star, he was surrendering in New Mexico.
Busfield's antics led the judge in his case to rule that he be held in jail without bail until his next court appearance.
“In light of the defendant’s demonstrated disregard for boundaries, authority, and compliance, no condition or combination of conditions of release can reasonably protect the victims or the community,” the prosecution's motion stated.
They also claimed Busfield had a "documented pattern of sexual misconduct, abuse of authority, and grooming behavior" over twenty years as a Hollywood actor and director.
Little House on the Prairie alum Gilbert, 61, pleaded with the judge in her husband's case, writing, "Please, please take care of my sweet husband. As he is my protector, I am his, but I cannot protect him now, and I think that, more than anything else, is what is truly breaking my heart."
