‘Little House on the Prairie’ Star Charlotte Stewart Was Married to This ‘My Three Sons’ Actor
Charlotte Stewart became a part of the Little House on the Prairie legacy through her role as Walnut Grove school teacher Eva Beadle for the show’s first four seasons. Before she landed the part in 1974, the Little House alum had a guest appearance on My Three Sons and began a relationship with one of the sitcom’s stars.
Charlotte Stewart met Tim Considine on the ‘My Three Sons’ set
In the early 1960s, Stewart landed a guest part on the hit comedy My Three Sons. During her time on set, she got to know Tim Considine, who had become a famous face thanks to his roles on Disney’s Spin and Marty and The Shaggy Dog. Considine played the oldest son, Mike Douglas, on My Three Sons and immediately caught Stewart’s eye.
“I really liked Tim,” Stewart wrote in her memoir, Little House in the Hollywood Hills: A Bad Girl’s Guide to Becoming Miss Beadle, Mary X, and Me. “Well, I more than liked him. I had a huge crush on him and tried to figure out how to get his attention. I was only going to be on set for about three days so I didn’t have a lot of time to make an impression.”
Stewart apparently won over Considine and he asked her out on a date. Their relationship blossomed into a steady romance.
“Fortunately, things clicked between us,” the Little House alum remarked. “We started seeing each other pretty regularly. … Usually I’d spend time at Tim’s place, though every now and then we’d find ourselves holed up at mine.”
‘Little House’ alum and Tim Considine headed to the altar
The couple dated for four years and enjoyed the partying lifestyle that was prevalent in the 1960s. At one point, the two decided to tie the knot.
“I don’t remember who said what but the idea began to grow seemingly on its own,” Stewart recalled. “He didn’t propose to me on a bended knee or any of that. We just slowly started to talk about it and then it became a reality. We were engaged.”
Thanks to the popularity of My Three Sons, their engagement made headlines. Stewart noted that several of Considine’s co-stars attended their wedding.
“Tim and I married at 3 p.m. on October 23, 1965 at Bel Air Presbyterian,” she wrote. “Among the guests were Fred MacMurray (the only time I met him) and the other cast members from My Three Sons such as Don Grady, Stanley Livingston, William Demarest, and Bill Frawley.”
Charlotte Stewart and ‘My Three Sons’ actor decided to split
After the wedding, Considine tried to negotiate more directing opportunities on My Three Sons and ended up being cut from the show. He began shying away from acting roles and the partying lifestyle he and Stewart frequented. As time went on, the two began to grow apart. Stewart became more dependent on drinking and realized she felt inferior to her husband.
“I couldn’t imagine a life without alcohol,” Stewart wrote, referring to when Considine quit drinking and smoking pot. “We started spending less and less time together. … Underneath it all, I wasn’t sure why – I didn’t seem important to him. I didn’t feel like I measured up. This was never going to be a partnership. I was never going to have a say.”
Stewart grew more depressed as her relationship with Considine continued to fall apart. The Little House star admitted she began having affairs outside of her marriage. Experiencing “sadness, recklessness, and self-loathing”, Stewart attempted suicide. During her recovery, she confessed her unfaithfulness to Considine and the two eventually reached a breaking point.
“Tim had shut down,” Stewart wrote. “I remember sitting in the living room watching him sit in silence. … It was over. There were no pieces to pick up. With enormous, choking sadness, I told Tim that I was moving out and wanted a divorce.”
Stewart and Considine finalized their divorce in the early 1970s.
