Melissa Gilbert’s Husband Timothy Busfield Is Her ‘Soulmate’! Meet the ‘Field of Dreams’ Actor

Melissa Gilbert‘s longtime love, Timothy Busfield, is more than just her husband and “soulmate.” The Field of Dreams actor is a Hollywood star, film director, an Emmy Award winner and a loving dad of three kids.

“I have never been more content, more cherished or happier,” the Little House on the Prairie actress once gushed on social media of their marriage. “Every day, even the difficult ones, is filled with a joy I never could have imagined. I love you, my sweet husband.”

Melissa and Tim’s romance first began in the early 2010s. While the two occasionally crossed paths on the sets of TV shows and movies throughout the years, they became a couple after bumping into each other at a bar.

“I was just going out to get a slice of pizza and a beer and watch sports on TV, and I knew just the spot that would be empty,” Tim told MLive in 2014. “So I walked in the front door, and there was one person, sitting in my chair, at the bar. I looked, and then I stepped back outside.”

Although Tim was apprehensive about going into the bar because he was “not [interested in] dating” at the time, he knew he shouldn’t pass up the opportunity. “I sort of talked to myself for a moment, and then I went in, sat at the bar and ordered a drink,” he recalled. “Then I saw [Melissa’s] smile and I was gone.”

The Little Big League star was so smitten with Melissa, he actually asked her to get “brunch” the next morning. “We’ve been inseparable since,” Tim sweetly marveled.

The Thicker than Water actress and the Revenge of the Nerds actor made their love official during a romantic wedding ceremony in Santa Barbara in April 2013. Since then, Melissa and her hubby have been enjoying a life of wedded bliss.

“I am so blessed to walk through this life with a real and true partner,” the Safe Harbour actress wrote on Instagram in honor of their wedding anniversary in April 2020. “The depth of understanding, compassion and kindness in this man blows me away. And oh, how we laugh! How blessed I am. How grateful.”

Prior to walking down the aisle with Tim, Melissa married her first husband, Bo Brinkman, in 1988. The pair welcomed their son, Dakota Brinkman, in 1989, but they split five years later in 1994. The Golden Globe nominee then tied the knot with her second spouse, Bruce Boxleitner, in 1995, but the duo — who became the parents of son Michael Boxleitner in 1995 — called it quits after 16 years of marriage in 2011.

Melissa and Tim decided to make a huge change in their life in 2018. The couple purchased a small cottage in upstate New York and chose to leave the city life behind. After renovating their new home, the Emmy nominee tapped into her Little House on the Prairie character, Laura Ingalls, to help her adjust to her new life. She described their journey of becoming “DIY farmers” in her 2022 book, Back to the Prairie: A Home Remade, A Life Rediscovered. 

“We bought this ramshackle hunting cabin, and I started going crazy: Let’s have chickens, let’s have cows, let’s have a horse!” she said. 

The California native discovered she has a green thumb and learned how to tend to farm animals and build fires. Melissa has done everything with her hubby by her side. She credited their “extraordinary partnership” for allowing her to explore a new side of herself. 

Scroll through the gallery below to learn more about Tim.