Melissa Gilbert Reveals Awkward Encounter With RHOSLC Star
Little House on the Prairie favorite Melissa Gilbert says a chance NYC run-in with Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’s Britani Bateman and Jared Osmond spiraled into a hilariously awkward fan moment — equal parts admiration and shyness.
File this under charming New York chaos: Melissa Gilbert bumped into Real Housewives of Salt Lake City faces Britani Bateman and Jared Osmond outside the Plaza, and what should have been a quick fan-to-fan hello turned into a polite whirlwind ending with an Irish goodbye. Yes, really.
The setup
Gilbert, 61, says she and her husband, Timothy Busfield, were near the Plaza in NYC when they spotted Bateman and Osmond. She admitted on Instagram that she got shy about walking up to them, so Busfield did what supportive spouses do and nudged the introduction.
"This is my wife, Melissa Gilbert from Little House on the Prairie."
Gilbert followed with her own quick praise: big fan, love the show. So far, so normal.
Then it got... weird
According to Gilbert, Britani looked frazzled, and then things went sideways in a hurry. Bateman basically vanished into a cab without a goodbye, and Jared kept chatting about behind-the-scenes moments that never made it to air. A minute later, he pulled a softer version of the same exit to catch up with her. Poof. Gone.
- Gilbert and Busfield spot Bateman and Osmond near the Plaza.
- Busfield introduces Gilbert; she says she is a fan.
- Bateman looks stressed, then abruptly jumps into a cab.
- Osmond sticks around, talks about things that were cut from the show.
- Osmond then jets to catch Bateman. Interaction over.
Gilbert laughed it off, joked that the two probably had no idea who they were talking to, and tagged the moment with the very apt hashtag: #theresnobusinesslikeshowbusiness.
The clarification
Bateman did not ghost out of shade. Her rep later explained that she panicked because she realized her engagement ring was missing and had to race off to make her cabaret gig at 54 Below. No disrespect intended; in fact, the rep says Bateman is a huge fan of Gilbert and would love a proper, less frantic meet-up soon.
So, to recap: star of a classic TV staple meets Bravo-world newcomers, everyone is earnest, New York happens, and the night becomes a story both sides will probably laugh about the next time they actually get five calm minutes in the same place.