Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert had to leave Los Angeles to age gracefully

Melissa Gilbert, who charmed audiences across the country as Laura Ingalls Wilder in “Little House on the Prairie,” knew when it was time to leave Los Angeles.The former child star, who grew up in the spotlight, became a familiar face in Hollywood during the ‘80s, dating heartthrobs like Rob Lowe and Billy Idol.At 47, she competed on “Dancing with the Stars.”However, over the years, the actress found herself obsessed with the need to look youthful.

Today, the 60-year-old has a lifestyle brand, Modern Prairie, which aims to uplift older women, regardless of their age.“I looked at myself in the mirror several years back,” Gilbert recalled to Fox News Digital.“I was living in Los Angeles, and I did not recognize who I was.

I had overfilled my face and my lips.My forehead didn’t move.

I was still dyeing my hair red.I was driving a Mustang convertible.

I was a size two in an unhealthy way.I looked like a frozen version of my younger self, and that’s not who I was.”“I was stuck,” Gilbert admitted.

“I could feel myself fighting it.And I said to myself, ‘It’s time to age.’ I had to leave Los Angeles to do that – not Hollywood – Los Angeles specifically.”Gilbert said she and her husband, actor Timothy Busfield, moved to his home state of Michigan following their wedding in 2013.They lived there for five years.

She felt free to finally age.“I stop coloring my hair,” she explained.“I had [my] breast implants removed.

I decided to just be the best, healthiest version of myself without this pressure to look a certain way, and it paid off in a huge way. “I finally found my feet as a woman, fully, 100 percent strong in my own knowledge, in my own accomplishments.Everything got easier.

And a bonus? I have a lot more free time not staring in a mirror, sitting in a dermatologist’s chair, or sitting in a hair chair.”Gilbert also credited her “sweet husband” for encouraging her to embrace the aging process.“I think a...