Melissa Gilbert knew about husband Timothy Busfield’s past sexual assault allegations before they tied the knot in 2013.
The actress clarified to “Good Morning America” viewers Monday that she “didn’t go into [the] relationship blind,” noting that “the internet existed” when she and the director “got together” the year before they wed.
“I’m neither naive nor am I complicit,” she explained to George Stephanopoulos during the new interview “I talked to him about it. I asked him questions about it.”
The “Little House on the Praire” alum made this “abundantly clear” during the sitdown, which marked her first interview since Busfield’s January arrest.
“These allegations have been out in the ether for a very long time,” the 61-year-old added, referencing previous accusations leveled against Busfield in 1994 and in 2012. “I heard his side of the story — which nobody has ever heard — which is the truth.
“And when the time is right, and that is not now, Tim will tell the truth of all of these past allegations when he needs to,” she continued.
Busfield, 68, was arrested in January on charges of child abuse and criminal sexual contact of a minor over allegedly inappropriately touching two actors, 7-year-old twin boys, on Fox’s “Cleaning Lady” series.
The alleged abuse dated back to 2022.
The “West Wing” alum, who has denied the “horrible” allegations, was officially charged on Feb. 6 with four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child under the age of 13.
He pleaded not guilty on Feb. 21.
Gilbert has put on a united front with her partner during the scandal, dubbing it “hell” and the “most traumatizing experience” of her and Busfield’s lives on Monday.
“Our life as we knew it is done,” she told Stephanopoulos. “We are grieving what we had — all of our plans, all of our dreams, all of our ideas, all of our projects. For Tim, it’s done. He’s canceled. Even if he’s exonerated, he will always be that guy.”
She insisted Busfield is “the last person in the world who would hurt a child.”
The child star claimed, “No one knows him better than I do. I know literally everything about him … We’ve had a lot of ups and downs. We’ve been through struggles, we’ve had our own issues to deal with and we worked through everything.
“He’s nothing if not completely honest with me. I trust him with my children’s lives, with my grandchildren’s lives, my nieces and nephews. He is an honorable, caring, generous human being.”
Gilbert was previously married to actors Bo Brinkman and Bruce Boxleitner, welcoming one son with each.
Busfield, for his part, divorced his first two wives, Radha Delamarter and Jenny Merwin, in 1986 and 2007, respectively. He has three kids.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226.
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