Timothy Busfield and Melissa Gilbert: A complete relationship timeline 

Timothy Busfield and Melissa Gilbert are putting on a united front as they face a major challenge.

The couple is dealing with intense media attention in the wake of Busfield’s child sex abuse charges.

The “West Wing” actor, 68, turned himself in to New Mexico authorities on Tuesday, Jan. 13 for allegedly engaging in unlawful sexual conduct with 11-year-old twin boys while directing “The Cleaning Lady” in 2024. Busfield has denied the accusations.

Gilbert, 61, is standing by her husband in the wake of the allegations.

Busfield and Gilbert have been together since 2012 and share five children from their respective previous relationships.

The stars have put their love in the spotlight over the years, including when they celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary in April 2019.

“Six years ago today, I married my soulmate,” Gilbert wrote in her Instagram tribute to Busfield. “I have never been more content, more cherished, or happier. Every day, even the difficult ones, is filled with a joy I never could have imagined.”

Keep reading for Timothy Busfield and Melissa Gilbert’s complete relationship.

2012: Timothy Busfield and Melissa Gilbert meet

Busfield met the “Little House on the Prairie” star at a bar in 2012.

At the time, both stars were coming off two divorces. Busfield was married to Radha Delamarter from 1982 to 1986 and Jennifer Merwin from 1988 to 2007, while Gilbert was married to Bo Brinkman from 1988 to 1994 and Bruce Boxleitner from 1995 to 2011.

“That was my drill, at eight o’clock, there was a bar right across from the Universal Studios that would open at eight and nobody would ever be in there. And then at 10 o’clock it would turn into a club. I would have the bar to myself for the first 45 minutes and I’d watch some sports and have a slice,” Busfield recalled to People of meeting Gilbert in 2022.

“I remember so clearly grabbing pizza and then looking in the door to make sure there wasn’t a lot going on,” the “Field of Dreams” star continued. “There was one person sitting at the bar and she had a fedora on, and I couldn’t tell who it was, but I knew it was problematic. And it’d been about eight months I hadn’t been on a date, and I was so happy, and I was spooning with my pillow and really enjoying going to bed not involved in a relationship.”

Busfield eventually mustered up the courage to talk to Gilbert, and they hit it off. “I knew she was the one,” he said. “It felt so real.”

Gilbert previously told People of meeting her husband, “It sounds cliché to say it, but it really was like getting hit with a thunderbolt. It just seemed right and inevitable. The next morning when I woke up, my first thought was, ‘I’m going to marry him,’ and then my next thought was, ‘You’re a crazy person.’”

Dec. 2012: Timothy Busfield and Melissa Gilbert get engaged

Gilbert and Busfield got engaged over the holidays in Dec. 2012.

“They are engaged and both are incredibly happy,” Gilbert’s rep told People in Jan. 2013.

April 2013: Timothy Busfield and Melissa Gilbert get married

The couple tied the knot in a private ceremony at the San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, California on April 24, 2013.

Gilbert wore a strapless red wedding gown by Morgane le Fay.

“The color spoke volumes,” she previously told People. “Passion, fire, love: Red says all of those things to me.”

“It was quite a search,” she added. “[But] the moment I saw it, I knew.”

January 2019: Timothy Busfield and Melissa Gilbert buy a house in the Catskills

One year after they moved from Busfield’s hometown in Michigan to New York City, the couple purchased a home in Highland Lake, New York.

“It became important for us to have a place where we could escape,” Gilbert told the New York Times. “This is one of those places that most people would say, ‘Are you nuts?’ if you expressed interest in buying it. But Tim and I are the best kind of nuts. We’re hopeful visionaries. We knew this house would shelter us well and serve us well.”

March 2020: Timothy Busfield and Melissa Gilbert start a podcast together

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the actors launched a podcast together fittingly called “Gilbert & Busfield.” The final episode of the podcast was released in Sept. 2020.

July 2025: Melissa Gilbert reveals the secret to her long-lasting marriage

I think it’s part and parcel of the fact that it’s a partnership, that we do everything with the other one in mind, and we are very considerate of one another and we respect each other immensely,” Gilbert explained on Jennie Garth’s “I Choose Me” podcast. “And so there are no decisions that are made singularly.”

“Everything is discussed, shared, and there’s so much comfort in that, and it’s so much gentler and easier,” Gilbert added. “I mean, you know, we all have our moments, but they’re so few and far between with both of us. Even our arguments are constructive.”

Gilbert also called the “thirtysomething” star “just a really spiritual, grounded, easygoing guy.”

“I mean, you know, we all have our moments,” she added, “but they’re so few and far between with both of us. Even our arguments are constructive.”

January 2026: Timothy Busfield turns himself in to the police

On Jan. 13, Busfield surrendered himself to New Mexico authorities after a warrant was issued for his arrest on Jan. 9 in connection with child sex abuse charges.

The “Revenge of the Nerds” actor was at large for four days before he turned himself in.

Busfield denied the “horrible” accusations in a video message his lawyer shared with TMZ ahead of his arrest.

“I’m going to confront these lies, they’re horrible,” he said. “They are all lies and I did not do anything to those little boys. And 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. “So hang in there, and hopefully I’m out real soon and back to work. I love everybody for supporting me.”

Busfield is facing two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse.

He’s been accused of inappropriately touching one of the boys three or four times, and the other five or six times.

The alleged abuse began in 2022, when the boy was 7 years old, according to court documents. Busfield worked on “The Cleaning Lady” from 2022 to 2025.

The investigation into Busfield’s alleged crimes kicked off in November 2024 when a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital alerted police about suspected sexual abuse and grooming involving the minors, the warrant stated.

When detectives spoke to Busfield on the phone in Nov. 2025, he said it was “highly likely” that he had “physical contact” with the boys.

Busfield’s lawyer, Larry Stein, told The Post he believes the allegations were driven by revenge by the boys’ mother, who allegedly told an actress on the New Mexico set she wanted payback after her sons were cut from the show’s final season.

After Busfield turned himself in, Gilbert’s rep said in a statement, “During this period, her focus is on supporting and caring for their very large family, as they navigate this moment.”

“Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time,” the statement added. “We ask that their privacy be respected.”

Gilbert also deleted her social media after the arrest warrant was issued.