Little House On The Prairie's Karen Grassle Proved You're Never Too Old For Love With This Major Move

It's always an odd feeling to see where the TV stars you grew up watching ended up in life. For hit shows like "Little House on the Prairie," whose leading ladies look different today, there's even a cast member living part-time in Europe. In an exclusive interview with People in 2025, Karen Grassle said that she moved halfway across the world to Carrara, Italy, for love. But there's more to this romantic story that might have you reaching for your tissue box: The man she followed across the world was a lover from her past, whom she met long ago in her teens. 

In the December 2025 interview, Grassle shared that her life was chaotic in the best way as she was just getting her foot in the door of the theater world when she first met him. With everything going on, the timing simply wasn't right for the two of them, so they parted ways. The actor added, "We lost touch many years ago."

It was decades later, in 2024, that she found herself in Monte Carlo to celebrate the 50th anniversary of "Little House on the Prairie." Here, she realized just how close she was to her once-lover and decided to reach out via email. He was elated. The lucky man who got Grassle to pick up her life and move is sculptor Robert Grove. It didn't take many words for the actor to describe what she felt when they reunited. She told People, "We met up again and fell back in love."

Karen Grassle was already in her 80s when she made the decision to choose love and move half of her life to Italy. Needless to say, her story is proof that life is worth living regardless of age, and sometimes giving someone a second chance is worth it. When it comes to love, timing is everything. Grassle admitted to People in the December 2025 interview that when she first met Robert Grove, she was so young. 

She shared, "When I first met him, I was only 19 years old and I was just starting my life in the theater. Everything was new and exciting!" It would've been amazing if they could have stayed together and learned how to support their partner as they chase their dreams, but life isn't always so simple. Their youthful timing pulled them apart, but their golden years have gifted them a rare opportunity to continue the story they started decades ago. 

Without going into too much detail, the actor casually opened up about what she was up to at the time in a November 2025 appearance on "The Jim Masters Show." Grassle said, "For the last year little more than a year, I've been going back and forth from my home in California to a temporary place here in Carrara ... with my boyfriend ... and it's been a big adventure." The "Not to Forget" star is clearly living a new, exhilarating chapter in her life that includes an inspiring second chance at love.