Why Blue Bloods Star Tom Selleck's First Marriage Reportedly Didn't Last
Tom Selleck has always been a family man. The actor, best known for his starring roles on "Magnum, P.I." and "Blue Bloods," has been married to wife Jillie Mack since 1987, and is a proud dad to two kids, Kevin and Hannah Selleck. Previously, he revealed that the reason he quit "Magnum, P.I." in 1988 — for which he won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in 1985 — was to focus on building his own family with his wife. "I knew if I wanted a family, it was time to move on," he explained, as quoted by Closer Weekly. "As good as this business has been to me, that's not what life is about. Life is about more important things," he stressed.
Although he's been in the limelight for nearly six decades, Selleck considers himself as a fairly private person who cherishes his time with family more than anything else. "It's always about them," he told People in 2020. In 2014, he opened up to GQ about how his marriage to Mack has evolved over the years. "It just grows more, kind of, satisfying. You become true, I think, partners," he said.
Selleck has been married once before; in 1971, he tied the knot with model and actress Jacqueline Ray, but they ended up splitting in 1979, after almost a decade of marriage. Speaking with People in 1982, the actor described their divorce as "one of the greatest sorrows of my life," as he strived for a lifelong union with his ex-wife. But alas, it just wasn't meant to be.
Tom Selleck shut down rumors regarding his divorce
Was Tom Selleck's fame to blame for his split from Jacqueline Ray? Amid his success on "Magnum P.I." in the early '80s, speculation arose that Selleck's burgeoning popularity had taken a massive toll on his 9-year marriage to Ray, potentially causing their divorce. Citing a source close to the actor, Radar reported in 2016 that Selleck had been unfaithful to Ray during his time working on the crime series, saying, "Tom is a very charming guy. [When he moved to Hawaii to film 'Magnum,'] he fell in love with the island and with the island girls." This naturally upset Ray, who couldn't bear seeing her husband with other women and decided to file for divorce. "She was crushed by the way their marriage hit the skids when he hit the big time — and thought it showed how fickle Tom could be," the source said, adding, "He was playing the field — and enjoying it!"
As for Selleck, the "Three Men And A Baby" star was said to be just as devastated by the split. In his 1982 cover story for People, the actor shut down reports that he left his ex-wife after his acting career took off. "That's the meaty story. Spouse Dumps Spouse After She Gives Him the Best Years of Her Life," he said. "But it's not true." The fact of the matter was that he and Ray had been separated for half a year before he even began filming for "Magnum P.I." in 1980.
Tom and Jacqueline remained close
Fortunately, it appears that Tom Selleck and his ex-wife Jacqueline Ray have remained good friends following their split. "We're still very close," Selleck told People in 1982, adding, "We've worked out an agreement to live separately, but we haven't made any moves toward divorce." He also expressed his affection for Kevin — Ray's son from a previous marriage whom Selleck adopted as his own when they first married. "[He's] the only child I have," said the "Blue Bloods" star. It wasn't until a year later that Selleck would finally find love again in his current wife, Jillie Joan Mack.
Per People, he and Mack first crossed paths in 1983 when he saw her perform at a West End production of the hit Broadway musical "Cats." Selleck, who was in London to film the action-thriller "Lassiter" with co-star Jane Seymour, was instantly smitten. "He kept telling me how great 'Cats' was," Seymour previously told People. "I thought it was good, but I couldn't see going back a dozen times." The pair wasted no time; about four years since they started dating, Selleck and Mack exchanged "I dos" in a hush-hush ceremony in 1987, using different aliases in order to stay under the radar. ("We wanted some dignity," Selleck explained to AARP in 2015.) They went on to welcome their daughter Hannah Margaret in 1988. Since then, Selleck has been blissfully married. "I don't know what our secret is," he told AARP in his interview. "But I'm happy."