‘Little House on the Prairie’: Melissa Gilbert Chose a ‘Booty Call’ Over the SAT

Melissa Gilbert spent most of her childhood and young adulthood on the set of Little House on the Prairie. At one point, she was preparing to take the SAT so she could apply to college. However, Gilbert was sidetracked by an opportunity she had trouble turning down.

Melissa Gilbert sent application requests to Harvard and two other colleges

During her senior year of high school, Gilbert began to consider going to college. In her book Prairie Tale, she says she requested applications for Harvard, Northwestern, and the University of Southern California.

Gilbert says she was on the fence about going to college. Whenever she would start to seriously consider higher education, she says she would hear her grandfather’s voice (the late entertainer Harry Crane), saying, “Who leaves a hit show? You have to be a moron to leave a hit show.”

Melissa Gilbert answered a ‘booty call’ instead of taking the SAT

Gilbert says she didn’t know if she would move forward with college until early June. One thing she did know, however, was that she liked a young man she worked with. Her attraction for Cyril O’Reilly, her co-star in the 1981 TV movie Splendor in the Grass, was so strong that on the day of her SAT, all she could think about was him.

Gilbert says on the day of her SAT, she picked up her pencils and headed out. However, instead of going to the testing site, she drove to O’Reilly’s apartment. According to Gilbert, they had sex until the afternoon. After they were finished, she drove back home and told her mother the test went well.

Looking back on that day, Gilbert realizes a lot could have gone wrong. She says she could have been hurt on her way to O’Reilly’s apartment or she could have gotten lost. However, the urge to have sex with O’Reilly was just too strong to resist.

“The lure of a booty call proved stronger than all those potential mishaps and fears,” wrote Gilbert. “And that’s just what it was, a booty call.”

Melissa Gilbert says she became self-conscious about her body

During an interview with Megyn Kelly, Gilbert says she became self-conscious about her body while filming Splendor in the Grass. According to her, she was told to wear a corset, girdle, and a push-up bra. She says the makeup department also shaded her nose to make it look slimmer and they painted on cleavage.

Gilbert felt this sent the message that she wasn’t slim enough, her breasts weren’t big enough, and her nose was too big. After that experience, she began to doubt her beauty. Although Gilbert felt her body wasn’t good enough, she says O’Reilly seemed to accept her as she was. She felt that he was OK with the way her body really looked.

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