Behind the Scenes of Little House: Drama, Addiction, and a Sisters' Reunion

Little House on the Prairie has captivated audiences for decades – however, the experiences behind the camera weren’t always as wholesome as the show portrayed.

That’s why fans were delighted to discover that Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Sue Anderson, who portrayed sisters Laura and Mary Ingalls, respectively, had come together again in December 2025. (The pair were known to have had a difficult relationship while filming the beloved series, which aired from September 1974 to March 1983. At one point, Gilbert described Anderson as “controlling” on the set.)

“I’ve been holding onto [this] for a while now. A reconnection with a sister. Extended, restorative conversations,” Gilbert shared via Instagram at the time. “A great deal of reminiscing. A lot of catching up. Plenty of laughter and a few tears.”

Gilbert and Anderson weren’t the only cast members who faced disagreements and dysfunction while working on the series. Continue reading to learn more about the most significant offscreen drama from the Little House set.

Karen Grassle Explains Why She 'Distanced' Herself From 'Little House' Fans

Karen Grassle Claimed Michael Landon Was Sexist

Grassle and Landon may have played a devotedly married couple on television, but behind the scenes their relationship wasn’t always harmonious. In November 2021, The New York Post reported that tensions escalated significantly after Grassle requested a salary increase, only for Landon to suggest she should be paid the same as the child actors on the show.

“I felt disrespected as his co-star on a successful series,” she told the publication. “I wasn’t seeking an exorbitant amount, but I expected fair compensation.” Grassle also stated that her scenes began to be reduced following her request, and that Landon would frequently criticize her appearance on set.

Karen Grassle Struggled With Alcoholism

Grassle also confessed to the Post that she battled alcoholism while filming the series, detailing her experiences in her memoir Bright Lights, Prairie Dust.

“I spent my drinking career attempting to manage it,” she said. “I wanted to drink like other people — simply to enjoy myself at a party. But it started to worsen. I would become severely intoxicated and would sob, cry, and become emotional. I would feel as though everything in my life was wrong.”

Melissa Gilbert Also Abused Substances

Grassle wasn’t the only one who struggled with substance abuse. According to The List, in her own memoir Prairie Tale, Gilbert admitted to grappling with prescription drugs and alcohol before achieving sobriety in 2004.

Melissa Gilbert And Melissa Sue Anderson Didn’t Get Along

Despite portraying sisters on the series, Gilbert and Melissa Sue Anderson did not have a close friendship behind the scenes.

“From the moment we stepped onto that set, Melissa Sue Anderson was in charge of me. She took that very seriously,” Gilbert said in an old video reposted via Facebook in 2024. “She was two years older than me, which, when you’re nine and 11, is a significant difference.”

Gilbert added at the time, “She was assertive. I mean both off and on camera, but especially on camera. In one of the early episodes … when Ma brings home fabric and I reach out to touch it. Melissa struck me quite hard, and you can see [where] I almost started to laugh, and you can see the full range of emotion on my face.”

Things shifted when the pair reunited in December 2025.

“Worlds collide. Blessings abound. Hearts heal and reunite. Magic happens,” Gilbert wrote via Instagram on December 27. “Last night after @penpalsplay my brilliant costar @veannecox had a surprise guest in the audience. I’m so glad I didn’t know beforehand that the remarkable @blbuckley was there. But I had a secret of my own.”

Gilbert continued, “I’ve been holding onto [this] for a while now. A reconnection with a sister. Extended, restorative conversations. A great deal of reminiscing. A lot of catching up. Plenty of laughter and a few tears.”

Gilbert went on to express that she was “so happy to have Melissa Anderson back in her life,” noting the “shared history” the pair possess that “no one else on earth truly understands.”.

“Just us Ingalls girls,” she explained. “The best part is, the past is now just that, and we can move forward as the sisters/friends we always wanted to be. What a wonderful Christmas gift.”

Jason Bateman Was “Teased” By Older Cast Members

In September 2025, Jason Bateman, who played James Cooper Ingalls on the series, accused his former castmates of teasing him on the show. In the September 18 episode of Hot Ones, Bateman refuted rumors that “the older kids in the cast played a practical joke” on the actor by telling him his “character had passed away.”

“That’s not true,” he said at the time. “What they did do was they pinned me down on the floor, straddled me with their knees on my shoulders and gave me noogies or whatever they called it on my chest.”

He added. “I went to the makeup artist and said, ‘Put a large black-and-blue mark all over my chest,’” Bateman added. “And then I went to their parents and I said, ‘Look what your kids did to me.’”

'Little House' TV Sisters Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Sue Anderson Reunite

Michael Landon Had An Affair

Although his character was regarded as the ideal husband and father, Landon’s real life wasn’t quite the same. Grassle wrote in Bright Lights, Prairie Lights that the actor had an affair with a considerably younger woman who worked as a stand-in for Melissa Francis on the show, who played Cassandra Cooper Ingalls.