Melissa Gilbert spoke out for the first time about her husband Timothy Busfield‘s recent arrest on charges of child sexual contact. The April 6 “Good Morning America” episode aired Monday morning, with Gilbert getting emotional during her chat with George Stephanopoulos.
Gilbert, best known for her work as a child star on “Little House on the Prairie,” said that she completely believes that Busfield is innocent. The most recent allegation came while Busfield, best known for his acting work, including a role on “The West Wing,” was directing the television show “The Cleaning Lady” in Albuquerque, when he was accused of inappropriately touching a child actor on set.
Busfield was indicted by a grand jury on Feb. 6 in New Mexico on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child. Busfield has maintained his innocence and is free until his upcoming trial.
Gilbert also defends his innocence.
“I know this man in my bones. No one knows him better than I do. I know literally everything about him. Our marriage has had a lot of ups and downs, we’ve been through our struggles, we’ve had our own issues to deal with, and we’ve worked through everything. He is nothing if not completely honest with me. I trust him with my children’s lives, I trust him with my grandchildren’s lives, my nieces and nephews. He is an honorable, caring, generous human being,” she said.
Gilbert said that her life with Busfield, who she married in 2013, is forever changed as a result of these allegations.
“Our life as we knew it is done. We are grieving what we had. All of our plans, all of our dreams, all of our ideas, all of our projects,” Gilbert said. “For Tim, it’s done. He’s canceled … even if he’s exonerated, he will always be that guy. The last person in the world who would hurt a child.”
“Believe me, if I thought for a second that Tim Busfield hurt a child, he’d have a lot more to worry about than prison,” she said later.
Watch the full interview below.
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