IN the throes of a devastating midlife crisis, former “Little House on the Prairie” star MELISSA GILBERT has decided to ditch Hollywood, an insider says.
Now 49, TV’s beloved “Half-Pint” and her third hubby, “thirtysomething” star Timothy Busfield, plan to settle in rural Michigan where she’ll undergo hormone replacement therapy, the insiders add.
“Melissa has been working in Hollywood since she was little, and she’s had it,” a source close to the actress told The ENQUIRER.
“She’s going through a midlife crisis, and she’s ready to start a new life in the Midwest with Timothy.”
Busfield, 56, grew up in Lansing, Mich., and the couple – who stunned pals with their quickie wedding on April 24 – is said to own a Victorian-style home in the area.
He’ producing and directing an ABC drama, “Mind Games,” in Chicago, and the plan is for him to spend weekends in Michigan with Melissa after working in the Windy City during the week.
Meanwhile, Melissa has been writing on her blog about suffering from the effects of menopause, saying she’s dealing with “weepiness, sleeplessness, weight gain in my midsection, slow down of metabolism.”
According to her blog, she’s found a doctor in Michigan to administer bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, a natural treatment that counteracts the effects of menopause. And she also sounds anxious to escape the TinselTown rat race.
“I’m ready to live somewhere that I don’t have to practically kill myself to be a size two or remain looking like I haven’t aged past forty,” Melissa wrote.
She noted that she’s also looking for: “Great fishing within walking distance, and reading on my screened-in porch.”
The actress left Los Angeles on July 20 and stopped in Texas to visit her 24-year-old son Dakota, whose father is her first hubby, actor Bo Brinkman. Then she headed to Michigan, where she’ll live in the Victorian-style house with 17-year-old son Michael, whose dad is her second hubby, actor Bruce Boxleitner.
As The ENQUIRER has reported, friends feared Melissa – who competed on Season 14 of “Dancing with the Stars” – rushed to the altar with Busfield after splitting from French beau Thierry Gauchet.
Busfield’s first marriage ended in 1986, and his 2008 split from his second wife led to him losing his Malibu home to foreclosure in January 2011.
On a more disturbing note, the former star of “The West Wing” was accused of sexual harassment by a 17-year-old Minnesota high school student in a March 1994 civil suit.
The case was settled out of court, but last year another woman accused Busfield of sexual battery after she claimed he groped her in a Hollywood movie theater. In the end, no charges were filed.
And her pal said: “Melissa couldn’t be happier with Timothy. He helped her find the Michigan doctor who’s treating her – and she loves him deeply.”
