Melissa Gilbert of Little House On The Prairie fame is a Hollywood star who was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. After living in L.A. for decades, however, Gilbert shocked many when she fled the California city in 2013 and moved to Michigan.
In a new interview, Gilbert is opening up about why exactly she “had to get out of” L.A.
Gilbert Reveals Why She Fled L.A.
Gilbert, 60, explained to People Magazine that she felt like she needed to leave L.A. “in order to age.” Hollywood is not typically kind to actors as they get older, particularly when it comes to women. That’s why Gilbert felt like she needed to “escape” when she still could.
“All of the pressures, I faced all of them,” Gilbert admitted. “When you live in Los Angeles, it’s like living at the mall when you work at the mall. Literally, everyone is in the business. When you walk into a restaurant, every head turns to see who walked in.”
“Everybody’s always looking, curious, competing and that’s a really difficult thing, especially for a female actor,” she continued. “It puts a lot of pressure on staying thin and staying young and really it makes it hard to feel comfortable in one’s own skin, because [of] the aging process.”
Related: ‘Little House On The Prairie’ Star Melissa Gilbert Doesn’t Miss Hollywood
‘I Had To Get Out Of There’
Gilbert initially moved to Michigan with her husband Timothy Busfield, and they stayed there for five years.
“I had to get out of there [L.A.], because it felt like I was not being authentically myself,” she explained. “In the five years that I was in Michigan, all of that stopped. … I stopped everything and just focused on being as physically and emotionally healthy as I could. And I think that shows, ‘Yes, I’m aging, but it’s not a curse — it’s a blessing.’”
Gilbert and Busfield, 67, briefly moved to New York City in 2018. Unsatisfied with life in the big city, however, they bought a home in upstate New York the next year. They affectionately call this home “The Cabbage,” and they live there to this day.
Now far away from L.A., Gilbert is enjoying the aging process.
“No matter how much we push it downstream is inevitable,” Gilbert stated. “So are you going to age comfortably and happily? Are you going to fight it, be unhealthy and feel like there’s something wrong with you for aging and that you’re defective because you’ve gotten older?”
Check out Gilbert at her New York home in the video below.
Gilbert Has No Regrets
While she does not miss L.A., Gilbert still has fond memories of growing up there. Unlike many child stars, she also has no regrets about having an acting career in her youth.
“I had an incredible time growing up,” she gushed.
Gilbert began acting when she was just 2 years-old. Her big break came at the age of 9 when she was cast as Laura Ingalls Wilder on Little House On The Prairie. The show made Gilbert a household name, and she starred in it during its entire run from 1974 until 1983. Gilbert was nominated for a Golden Globe for her work on the beloved show.
Gilbert is just one of many Hollywood stars who have fled L.A. in search of a better life elsewhere. Others include Mark Wahlberg, Candace Cameron Bure, and Scott Baio.
Watch Baio open up about why he left L.A. in the video below.
All the pressures that actors face combined with the high cost of living in L.A. makes it easy to see why so many stars are choosing to live elsewhere. We’re glad that Gilbert has found happiness in upstate New York!
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