Former Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert has become a grandmother for a second time – this time to a baby granddaughter named Rosemary.
The 58-year-old actress introduced the latest addition to her Instagram followers on Tuesday, while sharing a sweet photo of herself when she first met the little girl – months after she gave up her life in Hollywood to live in a ramshackle cottage to live the mountains.
Melissa, who recently recovered from COVID-19, added that it was “absolute heaven” to meet her new granddaughter.
“Everyone says hello to the newest addition to our family that I finally met today,” she wrote alongside a picture of her cradling the newborn.
The baby slept in her arms while Melissa stared down at her in the touching photo. A second picture showed the former child star smiling for the camera while her granddaughter rested on her shoulder.
Melissa Gilbert has become a grandmother again. Introducing the newest addition to her family, she shared a sweet snap of herself on Instagram when she first met the baby
Growing family: The former Little House on the Prairie star, 58, shared the exciting baby news with her followers on Tuesday and called it “absolute heaven” to meet her new granddaughter
The announcement comes months after she gave up her Hollywood life to live in a ramshackle cottage in the mountains. She and husband Timothy Busfield are seen indoors
She continued, “The silver lining to having COVID a few weeks ago is I’m super immune at the moment! Meet Rosemary Coates Busfield aka Romy. absolute heaven. #Nana #proudnana #nanapint #granddaughter #iminlove.’
Melissa announced that she contracted COVID-19 on June 1, and explained at the time that she was feeling “pretty oogie.”
It also comes two weeks after the former child star – best known for playing Laura Ingalls Wilder on the show – recovered from COVID-19. She is pictured in 2020
“Well the lady COVID finally got me. The symptoms started yesterday. Tested negative all day. Positive this morning,” she shared.
“I’m feeling pretty oogie. Start today with #paxlovid. I’m triple vaccinated so I should be fine in the end.
She posted an update the next day, revealing that she had “pains, chills, a bad sore throat, stuffy nose and chest tightness” and a high fever.
“Ugh this still sucks,” she wrote alongside some photos showing her dog snuggling with her in bed.
“The fever peaked at 102 yesterday. His morning before Advil was 100. I still have pain, chills, bad sore throat, stuffy nose and tightness in my chest.
“No appetite, but I force myself to eat a few calories. Sleeping in and out all day and all night. Drink tons of fluids. Water and miso soup and ginger ale seem to be favorites.’
On June 3, Melissa said she’s “come out of her COVID fog” and is feeling much better.
“The fever seems to be gone, the chest feels better but the nose is still stuffy,” she wrote, adding that she still feels “weak and tired.”
Melissa and her husband Timothy Busfield, 65, married in 2013. They have no children together, but she has two sons from previous relationships and he has two sons and a daughter from a previous marriage.
Melissa announced that she contracted COVID-19 on June 1, and explained at the time that she was feeling “pretty oogie.”
The next day, she posted an update alongside a photo of herself snuggling with her dog, revealing she was in “pains, chills, a nasty sore throat, a stuffy nose and a high fever.”
On June 3, Melissa said she was feeling much better. “The fever seems to be gone, the chest feels better,” she wrote on a video of her trying out an Instagram filter
Based on the baby’s last name, it appears that Rosemary is the child of one of Tim’s children, but it’s unclear which of them welcomed the little girl.
This isn’t her first grandchild as Tim has previously posted photos of granddaughters named Ruby and Ripley and a grandson named Eli.
Melissa — who rose to stardom after appearing as a child on the western show Laura Ingalls Wilder in 1974 — recently bought a 14-acre property in upstate New York for $98,000 so she could enjoy a much more laid-back lifestyle and get away from it all Pressure to be in the public eye.
She previously told Yahoo Life that the decision to move was made by her after looking at old photos and not even recognizing herself.
She underwent several plastic surgeries throughout her career, and she says she’s thought, “Who is this person? That’s not me. It’s like a shell over the real me.’
She admitted she also found it “hard” living her life in a place where “the outside mattered more than the inside.”
“I really wanted to undo that. I wanted to become more spiritual, more grounded, more peaceful, more connected to my community, family and friends,” she explained.
The couple bought the fixer-upper – which was filled with rotting deer heads, porn and holy water when they moved in – in 2018 and spent about a year renovating it.
Melissa and her husband Timothy (pictured 2020), 65, married in 2013. She has two sons from previous relationships and he has two sons and a daughter from a previous marriage
The couple recently bought a 14-acre property (pictured) in upstate New York for $98,000 so that Melissa can enjoy a more laid-back lifestyle and escape the pressures of the limelight
The couple bought the fixer-upper in 2018 and spent about a year renovating it. They officially moved in in 2019. Melissa can be seen in her new home
Melissa (pictured with her son) spends her days raising chickens and growing her own food in her new home, and she said starring in Little House made her want to live close to nature
She now spends her days raising chickens and growing her own food in her new home, and it turns out starring in Little House as a kid inspired her to want to live so close to nature.
“I actually feel like Little House on the Prairie was kind of a lure that opened my eyes to what could be,” she told the outlet.
“I was on set, especially when we were out with the chickens and then the frogs and the pond and the horses and cows and everyone had their dogs with them.
“I was out on the ranch in Simi Valley, and it was always dusty, always dirty, but [I was] just cheerful and happy.’
The couple officially moved into the home in late 2019, and she previously recalled to Good Morning America how they spent the height of the COVID-19 pandemic cooped up in their new home, saying it was an experience they’ll never forget would like.
“I would tell myself to remember 2020 as vividly as I can because it was truly an extraordinary life-changing time for the whole world, and I was a part of it,” she said.
“I think by remembering this I can be more compassionate, tolerant and understanding, not just about COVID, but about everything that happened in the summer of 2020, and of my own privilege and share stay aware of it.’