One of the most popular family dramas in television history remains the Little House on the Prairie TV series based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books of the same name. Brought to life by actors like Michael Landon, Karen Grassle and Melissa Gilbert, the show ran from 1974 to 1983 and chronicled the life and times of the Ingalls family, their joys, struggles and sometimes tragedies living on a Plum Creek farm near Walnut Grove, Minnesota.
Over the course of its nine seasons, television viewers fell in love with the characters and the actors who portrayed them, with cast members for the most part growing incredibly close (although there was apparently no love lost between Landon and Grassle). And while there were rumors of teen romance here and there, there was only one full-blown romance to emerge from the show (details below), which raises the question of what happened to the actors when the “Ingalls” went their separate ways, particularly in terms of who they ended up with over the near-40 years since the show ended.
Meet the real-life couples of Little House on the Prairie below.
What ’70s real-life TV couples would you like to see?
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Michael Landon and Dodie Levy-Fraser
Michael Landon was married three times over his lifetime. His first marriage was to Dodie Levy-Fraser, who he wed in 1956, which was early in his acting career. Not an actress herself, there isn’t a lot known about her or them as a couple, beyond the fact that she had a son from a previous marriage, who Michael adopted, officially naming the boy Michael Fraser Landon. They also adopted an infant son they named Josh Fraser Landon.
The photo above was taken in 1960. Michael and Dodie would get divorced two years later.
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Michael Landon and Marjorie Lynn Noe
In 1963, Michael married Marjorie Lynn Noe, who he had met on the set of his first television series, Bonanza, on which he played Little Joe Cartwright. They were together until 1980, at which point they divorced, with his stating he had fallen out of love with her.
During those years they’d had four children together: Leslie Landon, born in 1962; Michael Landon Jr., born in 1964; Shawn Landon, born in 1971; and Christopher Landon, born 1975.
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1976
Michael Landon with Marjorie and their children attend the 45th annual Hollywood Santa Claus Lane Parade on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles on November 28, 1976.
Michael Landon and Cindy Clerico
Michael Landon’s final marriage was to Little House makeup artist Cindy Clerico, who he was wed to from 1983 until the time of his death in 1991.
Given his reputation as a family man and the type of television programming he produced, Michael received a great deal of backlash for having seemingly ended one marriage to engage in a new relationship. The couple weathered this and, despite an 18-year age gap between them, had two children together: Jennifer, born 1983; and Sean, born 1986.
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Original caption for the photo above: “Malibu, California—Actor-producer Michael Landon and Cindy Clerico were married today in an afternoon ceremony conducted in his Malibu, California home. Judge Ray Cardenes performed the ceremonies, which were attended by thirty friends and family members, including his four children by his second marriage. A reception for more than three hundred friends followed the wedding at a Malibu Restaurant. Photo shows the Landons posing after the ceremony.”
Karen Grassle Was Married Three Times
Karen Grassle, who played Ingells matriarch Caroline, was married three times. While she kept her private life pretty much that, we do know that she had been wed to actor Leon Russom from 1966 until their divorce in 1970; which was followed by James Allen Radford from 1982 to 1987 and Dr. Scott Sutherland from 1991 to 1997. The actress struggled for many years with alcoholism, though it’s not clear what impact that may have had on those marriages.
Melissa Gilbert and Bo Brinkman
Melissa Gilbert’s first marriage was to actor Bo Brinkman, the two of them together from 1988 to 1994. In the photo above, the couple attend the Hooray for Hollywood AIDS Benefit, which was held at Bloomingdale’s in New York City on April 5, 1988.
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Melissa Gilbert and Bruce Boxleitner
Following her 1994 divorce from Bo Brinkman, Melissa Gilbert married actor Bruce Boxleitner in 1995 and was with him until their divorce in 2011. This photo was taken when they were in midtown Manhattan on March 16, 1994.
2005
Original caption: Actress/SAG President Melissa Gilbert with her husband actor Bruce Boxleitner attend the 84th Annual Hollywood Chamber Installation Luncheon Honoring Melissa Gilbert at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel on April 28, 2005 in Hollywood, California.
2010
Bruce Boxleitner and Melissa Gilbert arrive at the World Premiere of Tron: Legacy at the El Capitan Theatre on December 11, 2010 in Hollywood, California.
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Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield
Since 2013, Melissa Gilbert has been married to actor Timothy Busfield (best known for his roles inThirtysomethingandThe West Wing). This photo shows the couple participating in the Los Angeles Mission Christmas Eve lunch For The Homeless held at the Los Angeles Mission on December 24, 2012.
2019
Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield speak at a screening of Guest Artist during the 34th Santa Barbara International Film Festival at the Fiesta Theatre on February 9, 2019 in Santa Barbara, California.
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2023
Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield pose during a photocall for the Golden Nymph Awards ceremony of the 62nd Monte-Carlo Television Festival in the principality of Monaco on June 20, 2023.
Melisa Sue Anderson and Michael Sloan
Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary Ingalls) married Michael Sloan and has been with him ever since, the two of them parenting two children. Here they’re seen in 1986.
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1993
Melissa Sue Anderson and Michael Sloan at the 11th Annual Golden Boot Awards on August 21, 1993 at Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, California.
Sidney and Lindsay Greenbush
Rachel Lindsay Rene Bush and Sidney Robyn Danae Bush, who alternated the role as Carrie Ingalls on Little House. In 2000, Sidney married William Foster (who went by the nickname of “Rocky”), a horse breeder. Tragically, he died at age 55 in 2009.
For her part, Lindsay has been married to Daniel Sanchez since 2014. They first met while she was shooting the series on location; he was a teenager and she was a child. A couple of decades later they met again and fell in love, deciding to get married at the Big Sky Ranch in Simi Valley, which was the location thatLittle Houseshot its exteriors on.
Alison Arngrim and Robert Paul Schoonover
Best recognized for her role as Nellie Oleson onLittle House on the Prairie, Alison Arngrim was married twice, first to Donald Spencer in 1989, but their union was a short one, the duo divorcing in 1993. But that same year she married musician Robert Paul Schoonover, who she’s been with ever since.
They met while volunteering at AIDS Project Los Angeles, where he was the director of the Southern California AIDS Hotline. This photo was taken on their wedding day, November 6, 1993.
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2008
Alison Arngrim and her husband Bob Schoonover arrive at Gaydar Gun Launch Party at Here Lounge on November 19, 2008 in West Hollywood, California.
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- Little House on the Prairie