‘Little House on the Prairie’ alum Melissa Gilbert, 60, left LA because it wasn’t a ‘safe place’ for her to age

Melissa Gilbert tells Page Six why she left Hollywood for New York City. Instagram/@officialmodernprairie

Melissa Gilbert left Hollywood in 2013 and hasn’t looked back since.

The “Little House on the Prairie” alum, 60, tells Page Six in an exclusive interview that she left Los Angeles for New York City because it was “so anti-aging.”

“I just didn’t feel like that was a safe place for me to age. It’s so anti-aging, which is one of my least favorite expressions in the world,” she says. “Anti-aging means dead.”

Gilbert explains that, while living in California, she felt pressured to conform and “not get any older and stay a size 2 or 4 or whatever [she] was at that time.”

“I just didn’t feel like that was a safe place for me to age,” the 60-year-old actress tells us. Instagram/@officialmodernprairie
“It’s so anti-aging, which is one of my least favorite expressions in the world.” Instagram/@officialmodernprairie

However, following her cross-country move, she says that her mentality about aging immediately changed.

“I went from, ‘Oh God, I better not get older!’ to ‘Oh God, I’m so glad I’m older!’” she says. “I love the age I am right now. Sixty has been the most incredible year, just to look back on all the things I’ve done and to know that I’ve earned my opinions, I have value, I am wise.

“I have done so much and I continue to do it and it’s not over by any stretch of the imagination.”

She has since moved to New York City with husband Timothy Busfield. Getty Images
The actress, who rose to fame in “Little House on the Prairie,” said she felt pressured to “not get any older and stay a size 2 or 4 or whatever [she] was at that time.” Courtesy Everett Collection

Though the actress is now happily settled in Manhattan’s Upper West Side neighborhood with her husband, Timothy Busfield, she still has a lot of love for LA.

“I did not realize the depth of love that I have for my hometown until the wildfires,” she points out, referencing the Pacific Palides blaze that started on Jan. 7, 2025. “The amount of people I know who have lost everything, and not movie stars and television stars.

“It’s devastating and I do love so much about Los Angeles. It just wasn’t the right place for me to live in any longer but it will always be my hometown.”

Gilbert, pictured here in 2020, detailed that this has been “the most incredible year” for her. Getty Images for BAM
Gilbert is set to star in the off-Broadway play “Still” opposite Mark Moses. Jeremy Daniel

As for her career, the “Dancing With The Stars” alum is getting ready to star opposite “Mad Men” star Mark Moses in the off-Broadway play “Still.”

The drama follows a couple who reunites after 30 years to see “if they can rekindle this relationship now despite the fact that that they are political, polar opposites.”

The “Prairie Tale” author confesses she pulled inspiration for her role from her real life as she had differing politics from her ex-husbands, Bo Brinkman (1988-1994) and Bruce Boxleitner (1995-2011).

She said she found inspiration for her character from her former marriage to Bruce Boxleitner, pictured here in 1994. Getty Images
Despite her role in “When the Heart Calls,” Gilbert is also involved with a clothing and decor company called Modern Prairie. Instagram/@officialmodernprairie

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