Melissa Gilbert Says Her 'Greatest Joy in Life' Has Been Watching Husband Timothy Busfield Be a Stepdad to Her Son Michael
- - Melissa Gilbert Says Her 'Greatest Joy in Life' Has Been Watching Husband Timothy Busfield Be a Stepdad to Her Son Michael
Kimberlee SpeakmanJanuary 18, 2026 at 2:00 AM
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Pascal Le Segretain/Getty; Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty; Steven Ferdman/Getty
A photo of Melissa Gilbert, her son Michael Boxleitner and Timothy Busfield -
Melissa Gilbert shared support for her husband, Timothy Busfield, as he faces child sex abuse allegations by speaking about his role as a stepfather in a character letter to the judge involved in the actor's case
The actress is a mom to son Michael Boxleitner, whom she shares with ex-husband Bruce Boxleitner, and son Dakota Brinkman, whom she shares with her first husband, Bo Brinkman
“One of the great joys of my life has been watching Tim interact with my youngest son, Michael,” Gilbert wrote
Melissa Gilbert is sharing support for her husband, Timothy Busfield, as he faces child sex abuse allegations by speaking about his role as a stepfather.
In a court filing obtained by PEOPLE on Saturday, Jan. 17, the actress, 61, shared a character letter about Busfield, 68, after he was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse.
“One of the great joys of my life has been watching Tim interact with my youngest son, Michael,” Gilbert wrote, referring to her youngest son, Michael Boxleitner, 30, whom she shares with ex-husband Bruce Boxleitner.
Detailing that Michael had been a “full blown, angst-ridden teenager trying to figure out his place in the world” when she and Busfield got together in 2012, Gilbert continued, "Tim nurtured and guided Michael. He admonished, praised, loved, consoled, cajoled, fretted, cared for, and fed my son both physically and spiritually.”
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Michael Boxleitner and Melissa Gilbert n April 3, 2011 in Los Angeles, California
Gilbert — who is also mom to son Dakota Brinkman, whom she shares with her first husband, Bo Brinkman — then said in her letter to the judge on the case that she would “never be able to express the depth of gratitude” she has for her husband, calling him the “beating heart of our wild and wonderful extended family.”
Further describing Busfield as her “rock” and “partner in business and life," Gilbert stated that Busfield's "joy, humor and quick wit bring sparkle to my life."
She added that she has known him “better and more intimately than anything in his life ever has.”
Boxleitner similarly wrote his own character letter on Busfield's behalf, which was also included in the court filing. In it, he said Busfield has “shown up for me as a father” more than his own “biological" dad.
“He is kind, thoughtful, and carries himself with a stalwart integrity all of us could only ever hope to match,” Boxleitner added of his step-father, also calling him his “hero.”
Busfield was charged in New Mexico on Tuesday, Jan. 13, after he surrendered to Albuquerque police.
The charges he faces are tied to incidents that allegedly occurred while Busfield was a director on The Cleaning Lady. (In that case, the alleged victims are 11-year-old twin boys, and a pretrial detention motion filed on Wednesday, Jan. 14, and obtained by PEOPLE included an unrelated allegation of sexual abuse.)
Busfield has denied all child sex abuse crimes and said in a video obtained by TMZ that he plans to “confront these lies” and “fight."
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Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield on October 27, 2025 in New York City
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His civil attorney, Larry Stein, who has also denied all allegations that the actor engaged in unlawful sexual conduct, told PEOPLE in a statement on Jan. 13 that Timothy is “absolutely shocked” at the "false" allegation against him.
“He's devastated and will defend himself, because these are absolutely false allegations,” Stein added.
Busfield, who is being held without bond and remains in custody, next has a pretrial detention hearing scheduled for Jan. 20.
Gilbert is listed as a potential witness.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
