Former “Little House on the Prairie” actress Melissa Gilbert, now 59, has embraced aging, discussing her experience with menopause and letting her hair go gray.
Initially consumed with her appearance, she later realized the freedom in embracing aging, encouraged by her husband, Timothy Busfield.
“I was approaching 50 and there was this panic of, ‘This is it. I’ve got to wring this out while I can,’” she recalled. (Trending: Court Hands Down Crucial 2nd Amendment Ruling)
She remembered the period as “the peak of Botox, fillers, spray tan, hair extensions, big boobs.”
“I literally looked like Carrot Top the comedian,” she joked.
“My hair was too red, and when I did Botox, I became the spawn of Satan with pointy eyebrows. I had no facial expression, which is anathema considering what I do for a living.”
“When I would say, ‘I think I’m going to stop coloring my hair,’ he’d say, ‘Can’t wait to see what color it is. This is so exciting!’ ” she said of her husband.
“When I said, ‘I think I want to get my breast implants taken out permanently,’ he said, ‘Do it!’ It’s incredibly uplifting to be with someone who says, ‘I love you exactly the way you are.’ ”
“There’s no such thing!” Gilbert said of “anti-aging” products. “It’s derogatory and demeaning. The idea that we’re trying to teach people to be afraid of aging is a mistake. Aging is a gift. I like to say I’m aging gratefully.
“Aging is not a disease. It’s time we celebrate it. I think it’s so amazing that I get to grow old.”
“It’s attainable, but it’s fleeting,” she said of retaining a thin clothing size. “You have to keep it up. I did that in my 20s, and I don’t have the wherewithal to do it anymore. If that’s what you want to do with your time, great. I’d rather get down in a sandbox and play with my grandchildren.”
The realization led her to create Modern Prairie, a lifestyle brand for older women, promoting the celebration of aging.
Gilbert’s journey highlights the importance of accepting oneself and finding beauty and worth in the natural process of aging, offering a refreshing perspective in a culture that often values youth and physical perfection.
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