Melissa Gilbert Moves Out of NYC Apartment Amid Husband Timothy Busfield’s Child Sexual Assault Case

Melissa Gilbert is leaving her beloved New York City apartment behind. The actress shared an emotional farewell message on Instagram as she prepares to move upstate.

Melissa Gilbert is starting over. The "Little House on the Prairie" alum recently took to Instagram to share that she's moving out of her New York City apartment, giving fans a glimpse of the process through a short carousel and a reflective message.

"So long perfect little one bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side," she began. "The last eight years here have been so special. A lot of amazing work was done in and around this city. So many theaters and soundstages."

"So many wonderful dinners with friends and nights out on the town," she continued. "I'll miss the walking and our neighborhood, the subway rides, the amazing people I've met there and on the streets. This city truly has a pulse. You can feel it in your heart."

Gilbert then turned her attention to the smaller things that had made NYC feel like home. "Goodbye favorite newsstand, bodega, dance studio, and laundry. Goodbye shoe repair, dry cleaners, nail salon. Goodbye sweet neighbors whom we love so much," she wrote.

She closed her message on a bittersweet but hopeful note. "And a very fond 'farewell and see you soon' to our favorite city in the world. I promise we will be back — it's just that right now…..well….you know. Excited to live in our wonderful home upstate full time for a good long while."

The post drew an outpouring of reactions from fans expressing empathy and support, with many sharing their own experiences of leaving a beloved city behind.

Gilbert did not spell out a reason for the move, though it comes during an undeniably difficult chapter for the actress and her husband, "Thirtysomething" star Timothy Busfield.

Busfield is currently awaiting trial on child sex abuse charges.

The actor was arrested in January in New Mexico on child abuse and criminal sexual contact charges after he was accused of inappropriately touching seven-year-old twin boys while working on "The Cleaning Lady" in 2022.

Though the 69-year-old has denied the allegations, he was formally charged on February 6 with four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child under 13.

Busfield pleaded not guilty on February 21 after waiving his arraignment and appearances at pretrial proceedings. His trial is scheduled to begin in May 2027.

The case made headlines back in January when heavily armed federal agents raided the couple's Highland Lake, NY, home — the very property Gilbert is now moving to — shortly after Busfield turned himself in to authorities in Albuquerque.

Members of the New York Regional Fugitive Task Force used a battering ram to enter the residence before searching it and the surrounding buildings.

In a recent "Good Morning America" interview, she also revealed that she had been aware of prior sexual assault allegations against Busfield before the two married in 2013.

"I'm neither naive nor am I complicit," Gilbert told George Stephanopoulos. "I talked to him about it. I asked him questions about it. 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."