‘Little House on the Prairie’ Alum Karen Grassle Had ‘a Hard Time’ Filming Ma’s Menopause Storyline

Karen Grassle disliked a specific arc for her character, Caroline ‘Ma’ Ingalls, in Little House on the Prairie. 

On December 12, the 83-year-old actress — who starred in the beloved TV show from seasons 1 through 8 — attended the Little House 50th Anniversary Reunion at Strathearn Historical Park in Simi Valley, California, and revealed that the menopause storyline in season 7, episode 20, didn’t resonate with her, according to People.

“They wrote that Ma stopped having her period and she thought she was pregnant, and then they wrote that, no, no, she’s going through menopause. And I was like, give me a break,” Grassle recalled. “They wrote that my purpose in life was going away, and I was like, ‘No! No!’ It’s a wonderful thing to give birth, but give me a break.”

At the time of filming, Grassle was only in her 30s and thought the scene would “ruin” her career, according to the outlet. She explained she did not have an easy time committing to the character in this instance.

“So it was very hard for me to bring myself, my whole self, to the scene. I never did feel I did a good job,” Grassle admitted. “We’re not supposed to judge our character. [We’re] supposed to live within the character.”

“I had so much judgment, I had a hard time,” she continued. “It’s interesting that they chose that.”

According to IMDB, in the episode, Caroline “sinks into a deep depression” after she finds out she “is not pregnant at all, but is beginning menopause.”

“Her husband and daughters desperately try to convince her that they love her for the person she is, not for the person she wanted to be,” the summary on IMDB read. “Finally, Charles [Michael Landon] proposes that he and Caroline renew their wedding vows.”