'She's The Whole Package': Melissa Gilbert's Little House Husband Has Nothing But Praise For Her

Some bonds never break, even when they're fictional. Dean Butler — who played Almanzo James Wilder, husband to Melissa Gilbert's Laura Ingalls Wilder on the original "Little House on the Prairie" series from 1979 to 1983 — had wonderful things to say about Gilbert in a December 2025 interview with People. He particularly loved the work she did on the earlier years of the show before he joined, like the first season when she was just 9 years old. "I'd put Melissa up at that age up against anybody who's ever stood in front of a camera," he said. "She's the whole package, her emotional life, the way she looked with the buck teeth and the freckles. She was so real and so irresistible because of that."

Butler added, "You couldn't not love her and wanna follow whatever she was going to be doing in any story that you were watching." The "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" actor also noted that Gilbert's work with the show's creator and star Michael Landon, who played her father, Charles "Pa" Ingalls, was the heart of the show's early years but Butler was honored to be part of Laura's journey as she matured. "She evolved beyond sitting on Pa's lap, and with the pigtails and the lovely moments that they had together. There was going to be something else. It was great to be a part of that," Butler said. 

Dean Butler's final acting credit came in 2008, according to IMDb. He left Hollywood at a relatively young age, but Melissa Gilbert never stopped being relevant. She was let go from her role as forensic investigator Georgie McGill on Hallmark's hit series "When Calls the Heart" in 2026. She Las starred in Hallmark movies in the 2000s, like "The Christmas Pageant." And she guest-starred on "7th Heaven." So, she kept popping up in beloved places, true to her brand. 

Gilbert isn't afraid of reinvention, either. She launched a clothing and lifestyle brand, Modern Prairie, in 2022. The brand goes beyond trying to get customers to spend money. It also hosts classes and events to help women at a certain stage in their lives connect, reflect, and support each other (and have fun along the way). 

In her Modern Prairie era, Gilbert is also embracing her gray hair and natural beauty, something she hasn't always done. In 2024, she told Fox News one day she looked in the mirror and didn't recognize herself. She'd had multiple cosmetics procedures, was dyeing her hair, and was underweight. So, she made a big decision; she said: "It's time to age." Gilbert moved outside of Los Angeles, reversed the surgeries and let her hair go gray. "I decided to just be the best, healthiest version of myself without this pressure to look a certain way, and it paid off in a huge way," she said.