Celebrity
‘Little House’ Star Melissa Gilbert Shares ’80s Rocker Montage, Then Reveals This Punk Icon Is Her Ex
Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert dated one very surprising celeb back in the 1980s. While a famous actress getting romantic with a musician is far from shocking, Gilbert’s ex stunned some of her present-day fans.
The former child star rose to fame as the spirited Little House lead, Laura Ingalls Wilder. And while her fans may think of Gilbert as “Half Pint,” the little girl with braids eventually grew into a young woman. That is, a gorgeous (and incredibly famous) young woman who paired up with a few notable Hollywood hotties.
In her early 20s, Gilbert met English rocker Billy Idol in a Los Angeles club. She later wrote in her autobiography, Prairie Tale: A Memoir, “He impressed me as a sweet, gentle, and soft-spoken charmer.”
She continued, “He wanted to know all about Michael Landon, and he asked what it was like to grow up on television.” Reportedly, his hard-partying ways eventually ended their budding relationship.
Gilbert recently shared a video montage of 1980s music clips on Instagram, captioning the post, “So, so good! I may even have dated one of these artists…can you guess who?” While the actress’s question stumped some fans, others answered it almost immediately.
“Billy Idol. I remember pasting pictures of you and him in my scrapbook,” wrote one commenter, as others added, “Billy Idol! I still remember seeing a picture of you two walking hand in hand in one of those teen magazines back in the day!” and “My guess is Billy Idol! It was the lip, that lip drew you in!”
Another went into greater detail, revealing some pretty in-depth Gilbert ’80s trivia: “Melissa Gilbert dated Billy Idol in 1986. They met at the Los Angeles nightclub Tramps when Gilbert and a friend were seated near his VIP section…The romance drew a lot of media curiosity because it paired the wholesome Little House on the Prairie star with the punk-rock “Rebel Yell” singer.”
In addition to the rocker, Gilbert dated a few other high-profile celebrities in the ’80s, including Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, Scott Baio, and John Cusack.
