Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert is dealing with the immense backlash of her husband’s alleged horrific actions.
Melissa Gilbert, best known for her role as Laura Ingalls on the hit show Little House on the Prairie, has deleted her Instagram account after her husband was arrested on child sex abuse charges.
Her husband, Timothy Busfield, who is an actor, was charged on Friday with two counts of sexual contact with a minor and another count of child abuse.
The New York Post reported more on Gilbert’s Instagram being deleted:
Melissa Gilbert has fled social media following the news that her husband, Timothy Busfield, is facing arrest for child sex abuse charges.
The “Little House on the Prairie” actress, 61, no longer has active accounts on Instagram and Threads.
The link to her Instagram account now shows a message that reads, “Profile isn’t available. The link may be broken, or the profile may have been removed.”
However, Gilbert’s official Instagram account for her lifestyle brand, Modern Prairie, is still up and running.
The account posted a video on Saturday of Gilbert making a snow angel outside, alongside a motivating message in the caption.
“Saturday’s call: look for a sign…and when you find fresh snow, you make one,” the caption began.
“Today’s reminder is simple: do what matters — step outside, laugh a little louder, and make space for joy,” the message continued. “Because sometimes the most ‘grown-up’ thing we can do is drop into the moment and make snow angels like nobody’s watching.”
Take a look:
As of tonight, Saturday, actress Melissa Gilbert has completely removed her Instagram profile with hundreds of thousands of followers, after her husband has been charged with child s***** abuse with multiple alleged male victims.
Let me know your thoughts below pic.twitter.com/AlvIjmQQsE
— Erin Elizabeth Health Nut News
(@unhealthytruth) January 11, 2026
Here is Gilbert and Busfield together:
Melissa Gilbert deletes social media as husband Timothy Busfield faces arrest for child sex abuse charges https://t.co/zR4zjnVY47 pic.twitter.com/PMeaqkmDWp
— New York Post (@nypost) January 12, 2026
USA Today reported more on Busfield’s arrest:
Actor and director Timothy Busfield has been charged with child sex abuse after New Mexico authorities issued an arrest warrant Friday, according to media reports.
An investigator with the Albuquerque Police Department filed a criminal complaint for a case involving two minors who were part of the series “The Cleaning Lady,” which Busfield directed, the Associated Press and The New York Times reported.
Busfield is charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse.
The abuse allegedly occurred between late 2022 and early 2024, according to the criminal complaint. One child alleged that Busfield had touched his genitals several times. Both say Busfield touched them inappropriately.
The children’s mother reported the incidents to Child Protective Services, The New York Times reported.
According to the complaint, one child has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, and feared disclosing the alleged abuse because of retaliation from Busfield. In 2024, University of New Mexico Hospital staff members requested an investigation because it appeared the boys were being groomed.
According to the affidavit, Busfield acknowledged to police in a phone interview that the set was a “playful environment” and that he had probably tickled the boys. He suggested the allegations were revenge because the boys were fired from the show. Production assistants told the Albuquerque Police that Busfield was sometimes touchy or unprofessional, the affidavit said.