Melissa Gilbert admitted that "life as we knew it is done" after her husband, Timothy Busfield, was arrested on allegations of child sexual abuse in January.
The Little House on the Prairie alum, 61, has stood by her husband amid his legal troubles, and in a new interview with GMA's George Stephanopoulos, she opened up about their "traumatizing experience."
In a preview clip obtained by People, set to air on GMA on Monday, April 6, Melissa and her husband's lawyer, Larry Stein, sat down with George because she decided it was time "to clarify the facts of the case, which seem to have become lost to distraction, selective information and clickbait," her representative told the outlet.
When asked by George what Timothy's arrest has been like for her, she replies: "Hell. This has been the most traumatizing experience of our lives."
Melissa continues: "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.
© Getty Images"For Tim, it's done. He's canceled. Even if he's exonerated, he will always be that guy. [He's] the last person in the world who would hurt a child. And 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."
Tim surrendered to police on January 13 after the Albuquerque Police Department issued a warrant for his arrest four days earlier, alleging he engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with 11-year-old twin boys on the set of the TV show, The Cleaning Lady.
© Getty ImagesHe has been accused of two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and one count of child abuse.
He vehemently denies all allegations and told TMZ: "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."
© Getty ImagesHe attended a pretrial detention hearing in a district court in New Mexico on January 20, where he was released from custody under restrictions including that he will appear for all his court dates, not possess any firearms or dangerous weapons, and will not consume illegal drugs or alcohol.
Timothy has also been ordered to have no contact with the alleged victims or their families, discuss the case with any witnesses, or have unsupervised contact with any minor children.
© Getty ImagesOn February 6, Timothy was indicted by a Bernalillo County grand jury on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor (child under 13), to which he pleaded not guilty on all counts on February 10, per a plea entry filed in New Mexico's Second Judicial District Court.
His trial is scheduled to begin in May 2027. "Mr. Busfield will fight these charges at every stage and looks forward to testing the State’s case in open court – where evidence matters – not behind closed doors," his lawyer told People.
