Melissa Gilbert said that she is “100 per cent confident” her husband, Timothy Busfield, will be exonerated as he faces four counts of criminal sexual contact with a child.
In her first sit-down interview with Good Morning America (GMA), Gilbert, 61, said she is speaking out because “we’ve been hearing and reading too much untruth.”
“We felt that the time was right to speak out. Also, honestly, I wasn’t capable until now. It’s been a very traumatic time,” she said as to why she chose to speak out now.
The charges against Busfield, 68, stem from allegations he inappropriately touched a minor on the set of TV series The Cleaning Lady, which he was directing in New Mexico between November 2022 and early 2024.
According to the criminal complaint, an investigator with the Albuquerque Police Department said a boy reported that Busfield touched him on his private areas over his clothing on one occasion when he was seven years old and a second time when he was eight. The boy’s twin brother told authorities he was also touched by Busfield, but did not specify where, and said he didn’t tell anyone because he feared he would get in trouble, the complaint said.
Busfield denied the allegations when interviewed by authorities last fall as part of an investigation, according to the complaint.
“What the boys said originally was, ‘He never touched me.’ They were both asked at the time and they were specifically asked, ‘You know what’s appropriate. You know where touching is appropriate. Did he ever touch you?’ And both boys said no,” civil lawyer Larry Stein added in the interview with GMA.
Gilbert said that she and Busfield are now facing “the most traumatizing experience of our lives.”
“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 cancelled. 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.”
Gilbert said she doesn’t have any moments of doubt when it comes to Busfield’s innocence.
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“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,” she said.
“He is nothing if not completely honest with me. I trust him with my children’s lives, with my grandchildren’s lives, my nieces and nephews. He is an honourable, caring, generous human being,” Gilbert added.
Marvin Kirk Brown, with the police department, said Busfield and his wife told him they had a relationship with the two children and their family outside of work.
“They advised that they did buy the two boys Christmas gifts and were together on several social functions,” the complaint added.
Stein spoke about the Christmas gifts Gilbert and Busfield gave the two children during the interview with GMA.
“Tim did not give the boys gifts. Melissa gave them gifts. Melissa gave them and every other child at a Christmas party a gift. Every child at the Christmas party, not treating them special or different than anyone,” Stein said.
When asked if Gilbert’s contention is that the parents are “just making this all up,” Stein interjected and said, “Absolutely,” and Gilbert said, “Yes.”
“The boys are victims in this case. They’re victims of the parents, not the victims of Tim,” Stein said. “And when they were fired, they assumed Tim was responsible for it. The truth is he was not.”
When Busfield was interviewed by authorities as part of the investigation, he suggested the boys’ mother was seeking revenge for her children being replaced on the series. Busfield also previously said he likely would have picked up and tickled the boys, saying the set was a playful environment.
Gilbert was asked about the criminal complaint from two women who accused Busfield of sexual assault in 1994 and 2012. (Charges were not brought in either case.)
She confirmed that she was aware of the allegations and “didn’t go into my relationship with him blind.”
“I need to make something really abundantly clear: these allegations have been out in the ether for a very long time. When Tim and I got together, the internet existed,” Gilbert said.
“I am neither naive nor am I complicit. I talked to him about it. I asked him questions. I heard his side of the story, which no one 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,” she added.
When asked what justice would look like in the case, Gilbert said it would include “exoneration, an apology” and “freedom from this cloud.”
In a video shared before turning himself in, Busfield called the allegations against him “lies.”
“They’re all lies and I did not do anything to those little boys and I’m gonna fight it. I’m gonna fight it with a great team, and I’m gonna be exonerated, I know I am, because this is all so wrong and all lies,” he said.
Busfield’s trial date is tentatively set for May 2027 in New Mexico.
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