By james art 
Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert has revealed the real reason she decided to leave “dangerous” Hollywood for a remote cottage in the Catskill Mountains.
The 60-year-old actress was catapulted into the limelight as a child thanks to her role as Laura Ingalls Wilder on the hit series.
After that ended, she continued acting – appearing in a string of films and TV shows over the years.
However, in 2013 she shocked the world when she announced she was leaving Los Angeles to move to a farm in Michigan; she then moved to a mountain cottage in upstate New York with husband Timothy Busfield in 2019.
Now, the former child star has revealed why she decided to make the move, telling Page Six that she feels like Hollywood is too “anti-aging.”
“I just didn’t feel like it was a safe place for my age,” she said.
She recalled feeling enormous pressure to look young and “stay a size two”.
But since leaving the glitz of California, she said she’s learned to embrace her aging.
Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert has revealed the real reason she decided to leave ‘dangerous’ Hollywood for a remote cottage in the Catskills
The 60-year-old actress came into the limelight as a child thanks to her role as Laura Ingalls Wilder in the hit series, but left Hollywood in 2019.
“I went from, ‘Oh my God, I better not get old’ to, ‘Oh my God, I’m so glad I’m old,'” she continued.
“I love the age I’m at right now. 60 was the most amazing year, just looking back at all the things I’ve done and knowing that I’ve earned my point, I have value, I’m wise.
“I’ve done so much and continue to do so and it’s not over by any stretch of the imagination.”
Melissa also made it clear that she has nothing against LA, where she has lived most of her life, saying: “I love Los Angeles so much.
“It just wasn’t the right place for me anymore, but it will always be my hometown.”
Melissa returned to the screen earlier this month for the first time in more than a decade in the show When Calls The Heart.
The series has a special connection to Little House on the Prairie as it is executive produced by Michael Landon Jr., son of the late Michael Landon, who played Dad on the iconic family show.
In November, she launched an app for her lifestyle brand Modern Prairie aimed at older women.
Now the former child star (seen with her husband in 2020) has revealed why she decided to make the move, explaining that she feels Hollywood is too ‘anti-ageing’
She recalled feeling enormous pressure to look young and “stay number two,” adding, “I just didn’t feel like it was a safe place for me to grow old.” She has been seen in Little House on the Prairie
She co-founded Modern Prairie with retail and merchandising expert Nicole Haase.
Melissa, who has had multiple plastic surgeries throughout her career, previously told Fox News that she chose to move to upstate New York so she could finally be free in her own skin.
“This is me now – no hair color, no fillers, no implants, no botox. I just take care of myself. I try to eat as well as I can. I drink a lot of water. And I really enjoy the aging process because of it,” she said.
‘[Aging] is an uphill battle. In the end, everyone loses. It just doesn’t fit with who I am and what my life is like now. It’s exhausting and it’s unnecessary.
“I had to find a place within myself where I could stop trying or feeling like I had to be what everyone else wanted me to be and just be who I am.”
She also told Yahoo that the decision came to her after looking through old photos and not even recognizing herself.
She recalled thinking, “Who is this person? That’s not me. It’s like a shell over who I really am.
Melissa admitted that she also had a “hard time” living her life in a place where “the outside matters more than the inside.”
But since leaving the glitz of California, she said she’s learned to embrace her aging. She and her husband Timothy Busfield are seen at their house
“I went from, ‘Oh my God, I better not get old’ to, ‘Oh my God, I’m so glad I’m old,'” she continued. “I love the age I’m at right now. 60 is the most amazing year”
The couple purchased their 14-acre property for $98,000 in 2018. and spent about a year renovating it before moving in in 2019.
“I really wanted to turn this around. I wanted to become more spiritual, more grounded, more peaceful, more connected to my community, to my family, to my friends,” she explained.
The couple purchased their 14-acre property for $98,000 in 2018. and spent about a year renovating it before moving in in 2019.
Now the 58-year-old spends her days raising chickens and her own food in her new home.
Melissa explained that participating in Little House as a child inspired her to want to live so close to nature.
“I actually feel like ‘Little House on the Prairie’ was kind of the bait that opened my eyes to what it could be,” she told Yahoo.
“I was on set, especially when we were outdoors with the chickens, and then the frogs and the pond and the horses and the cows, and everyone had their dogs with them.
“I was out in Simi Valley on the ranch and it was always dusty, always dirty, but [I was] just joyful and happy.
She also told Fox that she always knew in her “core” that she “loved being outdoors” and “around animals” and enjoyed the “sweet, simple things in life.”
“Now our lives are simple, and in that simplicity there is sweetness. And with that simplicity comes a true love of stillness and living my life in a peaceful place,” she gushed.
“Once we got here, once we got our land and started looking at all the things we could do with it, and then when the lockdown happened, it unleashed all those things in me. There was a man who was dying to have this [new life].
“I still can’t believe this is my life now. It’s heaven. I’m just so blessed.