Little House On The Prairie Star Melissa Gilbert Had Messy Teen Romance With Rob Lowe

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Melissa Gilbert once recalled how challenging it was dating Rob Lowe during the height of his Brat Pack fame in the 1980s. While appearing on the "I Choose Me" podcast in July 2025, the "Little House on the Prairie" star recalled the ups and downs of her six-year romance with Lowe that ended with a called off engagement. "I guess looking back on those six years, I mean, I was such a baby when Rob and I were together. I was 17 and we broke up for the last time when we were 23 and it was very tumultuous," Gilbert shared.

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Melissa Gilbert was at the height of her complete transformation in Hollywood when she and Lowe began their romance. Her role as Laura Ingalls had already made her a household name when she watched Lowe blossom into a teen heartthrob right before her eyes. "I don't think I was prepared for the stuff that came with it, necessarily," she said. "I was prepared for all of having to go to premieres and things and award shows and all of that, but I wasn't prepared for the fandom and frankly, the girls."

While the pair did enjoy "really fun times" together, Gilbert recalled getting a reality check when women she considered friends would hit on Lowe. "I mean, it was like I didn't exist. They just pushed right past me and stick phone numbers in his pockets and stuff." After ending the romance, Gilbert took valuable lessons from her time with the "St. Elmo's Fire" star, gaining a clear sense of her boundaries and what she wanted in future relationships. "It was hard and horrible. I think I learned a lot about what didn't work for me, actually, and what I wouldn't stand for later on," she said.

From dating Tom Cruise and Billy Idol to rebounding from Rob Lowe with John Cusack, Melissa Gilbert's high-profile dating life fueled '80s gossip columns and continues to fascinate fans decades later. Long before Melissa Gilbert's big career move changed the way she sees aging, Gilbert briefly dated Cruise early in his career, before his global superstar status. She left the romance out of her 2010 memoir "Prairie Tale," and didn't confirm the longstanding rumors until a 2014 appearance on "Watch What Happens Live."

"That is true. Actually when I dated him he was Tom Mapother still. It was when he first moved to Los Angeles, and I think I was 16, maybe, or 17," she revealed. Gilbert also confirmed that the two never went beyond kissing, after host Andy Cohen brought up Cher's past praise of Cruise as "one of the best lovers" she'd ever had. "We made out, but honestly there was no sex," Gilbert said. "He was a struggling, starving actor and I was working. I actually bought him his first set of dishes."

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In a funny twist that proves just how small the Hollywood dating scene was, Gilbert and Cruise would later reunite on a double date — but not with each other. Cruise was dating actor Michelle Meyrink at the time, while Gilbert was coupled up with Rob Lowe. The double date captured all the charm of an '80s coming-of-age moment with youthful smiles, padded shoulders, loose-fitting ties, and '80s hairstyles that celebs are still rocking today.