Melissa Gilbert celebrated her 62nd birthday amid her husband Timothy Busfield’s ongoing sexual misconduct scandal.
“Happy birthday to our cofounder, Melissa Gilbert 💛,” a Friday, May 8, Instagram post on the Modern Prairie page read. “Melissa, you are smart, resilient, creative, deeply thoughtful, and a leader in every sense of the word. Your vision, courage, and heart have helped shape Modern Prairie into a place where women feel seen, supported and celebrated.”
The statement added, “You remind us that strength and softness can exist together, that reinvention is powerful, and that women in every season of life deserve to take up space. Today, we celebrate you — not just for all you’ve accomplished, but for the way you continue to lead with honesty, purpose, humor and heart.”
Modern Prairie, which Gilbert founded and named after her childhood role on Little House on the Prairie, is a lifestyle brand for the “modern, mature women.”
In footage shared by the brand, Gilbert’s colleagues surprised her with a cake and a rendition of “Happy Birthday.”
“First of all, the harmonies,” Gilbert replied, blowing out the candles on a single-layer cake. “So gorgeous, also you just turned me into my name [with this bee headband]. … I think I know what [my wish] is going to be. Oh my God, I love you!”
She jokingly added, “Wow, and all of this for my 35th birthday. How sweet.”
Gilbert deleted her personal social media pages after her husband was arrested in January. Busfield, 68, was accused child sexual abuse while directing episodes of Fox’s The Cleaning Lady. He surrendered himself to local law enforcement that same month while vehemently denying the accusations.
“I’m going to confront these lies. They’re horrible. They’re all lies, and I did not do anything to those little boys,” Busfield said in a statement at the time. “I’m going to fight it. 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 was released from custody on January 21 before being indicted by a grand jury for four counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor. The director pleaded not guilty in February.
Gilbert has since stood beside Busfield, whom she married in 2013.
“During this period, her focus is on supporting and caring for their very large family, as they navigate this moment,” Gilbert’s rep told Us Weekly in a January statement. “Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time. We ask that their privacy be respected.”
Gilbert reiterated her stance during a Good Morning America interview last month.
“I need to make something really abundantly clear. These allegations have been out in the ether for a really long time,” the Little House on the Prairie alum said in the April interview. “When Tim and I got together, the internet existed. I didn’t go into my relationship with him blind. I am neither naive nor am I complicit. I talked to him about it, I asked him questions about it. I heard his side of the story — which no one has ever heard — which is the truth. And when the time is right, and that is not now, Tim will tell the truth of all of these past allegations when he needs to.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
