Frank Reagan on Blue Bloods has a big, loving family. But he is a widower and Tom Selleck said he doesn’t want his character to take a new wife.
Frank’s wife, Mary, died in 2005 of cancer, a few years before Blue Bloods‘ timeline begins. And while the audience doesn’t get a chance to meet her, the impact she left on the family is clearly visible in every character.
But during a Q&A with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation in 2016, the moderator pressed Selleck on if we’ll ever see Frank in a relationship. Selleck was emphatic about his character’s future love life. Frank has been close to Lori Loughlin’s character and a few others, but Selleck says he wants Frank to stay single. That’s because keeping him alone is a sacrifice and provides more avenues for storytelling.
“Frank got lucky once,” he joked.
“There’s a part of Frank, who in the detective genre, is what we call a man alone,” he continued. “You may think you want to see that. Secondly, Lori is lovely and a wonderful actress as you saw. (But) Frank Reagan. who still wears his wedding ring? Look, if he dated somebody, I think he’d be afraid to tell his kids, and they’re the ones who are saying ‘Why doesn’t dad get on with his life?'”
Selleck Doesn’t Know if it Could Work
It’s also been so long since Frank Reagan had a girlfriend or significant other that it would immediately shift the balance of the character. While fans may want to see Frank happy in his love life, Selleck is dubious it would really work. Complicating matters is Laughlin’s character.
“Okay, what is that a two-season arc, because this is one of his best friend’s wives,” he said. Her husband was killed in the line of duty.
And Selleck said he, like his character, would never date a friend’s wife — ever. Even if they are dead.
But Could Frank Reagan Find Love on ‘Blue Bloods?’
It’s a question that fans genuinely want to know. Blue Bloods writers seem to enjoy toying with the audience on this front.
In a 2019 interview with TV Insider, Tom Selleck again addressed his character’s love life or lack thereof.
“I love working with Bebe (Neuwirth), but I don’t see their characters getting married. People are always saying Frank must be lonely, so when are we going to do a romantic story?” Selleck said. “It’s important he remains a man alone in overall concept because that’s part of the sacrifice he’s made. And how do you meet, fall in love and then have the relationship end in one episode?”
And that sacrifice, to only love one woman is a noble one — if not misguided. But it is a choice a character like Frank Reagan would gladly make to honor his lost love.
