Melissa Gilbert Moved to Cabin with Mice Mold after Hollywood — She Restored It with Husband to Live Peaceful Life

Actress Melissa Gilbert had a painful divorce from her second husband that saw her spiral out of control. Luckily, she met a man after her heart. The best part? They shared a goal — to live a quiet and calm life. They bought a dilapidated cabin and renovated it themselves; today, they live just as they desired.

Success came easy for Melissa Gilbert. She jumpstarted her career as a nine-year-old, playing Laura Ingalls Wilder, Charles Ingalls’s daughter, on “Little House on the Prairie,” and remained on the show for its entirety.

Besides following Ingall’s family life on the farm, the show also took viewers through Laura’s love life after finding love as a teenager. She fell in love with Almanzo Wilder, played by Dean Butler, and after courting for a few years, she married him and started a family.

Dean Butler as Almanzo James Wilder, Melissa Gilbert as Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder on an episode of “Little House on the Prairie | Source: Getty Images

Sadly, despite her character finding love early on, Gilbert’s real love life was nothing short of a disaster. After divorcing her first husband, Bo Brinkman, after six years and one child, she found love with her second husband, Bruce Boxleitner.

She married him a year after her divorce, and they had a son, Michael. Unfortunately, her marriage ended after 16 years, with Gilbert filing for divorce in 2011, citing “irreconcilable differences.”

Bruce Boxleitner & Melissa Gilbert during NBC 75th Anniversary Celebration at Rockefeller Plaza in New York, New York, United States. | Source: Getty Images

She said at the time, as Showbiz Cheat Sheet reports: “We have loved each other for a very long time, and we share four incredible sons together.”

Going through the motions of a second divorce was a painful experience for Gilbert, and she did not count on finding love again. Luckily, she was strong enough to fight her adversities.

After two tumultuous marriages and high-profile romances with the likes of heartthrobs Rob Lowe, the actress finally found love with a man that was after her heart. The two met in the unlikeliest of places but fell in love anyway. Years later, the pair created their “place of love.”

Gilbert’s Painful Divorce

Of all her relationships, the “Striking Distance” actress admits that her divorce from her second husband was the most painful. It was the longest relationship of her life, and the end became a sad and distressing time for the actress.

Melissa Gilbert arrives at the premiere of “TRON Legacy” at the El Capitan Theatre on December 11, 2010 in Hollywood, California. | Source: Getty Images

The divorce also brought out a side she was not entirely proud of. In the wake of her separation, Gilbert told Page Six, as Daily Mail reports:

“It was like, I lost my mind.”

She confesses to getting botox and fillers and even buying a mustang. But the worst of it, she says, was dating a younger French boyfriend, who wore a T-shirt written “snatch” to a brunch with Gilbert’s mother.

Actress Melissa Gilbert signs and discusses her new book “My Prairie Cookbook” at Barnes & Noble bookstore at The Grove on March 18, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images

She cringes at the thought of what her sons thought of her at the time but hopes they see the growth she has undergone in the last several years and become inspired.

The actress was not the only one to feel the trauma. She disclosed that her son Michael also suffered stress from the divorce, and seeing him in pain was worse than anything she had experienced.

Ditching Hollywood for a Life in a “Smelly Cabin”

Despite her failed personal life, Gilbert had a prolific acting career, appearing in numerous other films, including “Sylvester,” “The Miracle Worker,” and “Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Boss,” among many others.

She lived through the glam and glitz of every actor’s life, but deep down, Gilbert constantly desired a quiet country life that resonated with her role on the “Little House on the Prairies.”

She wanted a secluded life, away from the pressure she had to persevere as a Hollywood actress that pushed her to do the unthinkable to remain relevant in the industry. The only way for her to achieve such a life was to leave Los Angeles.

That dream came to pass when she met her third husband, Timothy Busfield. Busfield was freshly divorced when the two lovebirds met, and like Gilbert, he was looking to start afresh elsewhere.

Timothy Busfield and wife Melissa Gilbert pose at the opening night after party for Irish Rep’s production of “The Seafarer”at Crompton Ale House on April 18, 2018 in New York City | Source: Getty Images

The two eventually decided to move to Michigan and build a life there. All was well for the first five years, but the couple’s eternal desire to live in the country became overwhelming, and they began looking further East. Gilbert writes:

“It became important for us to have a place where we could escape.”

Gilbert says her husband found a listed house that looked cute and went for a reasonably good price. However, upon checking it out, they found that the inside was filled with mildew and mold, had a repulsive musty smell, and was strewn with the previous owner’s belongings.

Gilbert remembers the numerous shampoo bottles and soap in the shower, the cereal boxes in the pantry, and not forgetting the rotting deer heads on the walls.

Despite the peeling render and halfhearted timbering, the two thought it had the potential to become their shared retirement home. They purchased the 14-acre property in upstate New York for $98,000 and got to work. Gilbert says:

“As I stared up at one of the rotting deer heads on the wall, a lifetime of therapy kicked in, and I thought I could do something here.”

They named it “The Cabbage,” and as soon as they closed on the property, they began mapping out their plan for the renovations and designs.

They were determined to make a home from the rubble, and they would do it step by step. First, they added new plumbing, a propane tank, and a boiler. Despite their tight budget, their home slowly began taking shape.

Today, it has numerous customized features, including floating shelves made of recycled bowling-alley wood, a fireplace, and wooden staircases leading up to the upper floor.

The couple had a few qualms about what to do with their new home, including a disagreement about a brown pleather recliner chair that Gilbert initially thought was horrible — she eventually fell in love with it — but overall, everything worked out. The pair love the home they build together.

And the best part? They grow their own food, saving on grocery expenses. The actress grows vegetables and fruits and even rears chickens. It is not a lifestyle that many celebrities would desire, but Gilbert and her husband could not be happier with their lives.

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