At 80 years old, Tom Selleck has opened up about his brief romance with Sally Field, a relationship he has long described with warmth and respect. The two stars were together romantically around 1979, a pivotal moment in Selleck’s personal life, just as he was separating from his first wife and before his career exploded with *Magnum, P. I. *
Born Thomas William Selleck on January 29, 1945, in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in Southern California, he initially pursued sports before acting.
He earned a basketball scholarship to the University of Southern California, where he studied business administration while also serving in the California Army National Guard during the Vietnam War era. His early years in Hollywood were marked by persistence rather than overnight success. Throughout the 1970s, Selleck appeared in commercials, small television roles, and short-lived shows. He faced steady rejection but kept working on his craft, developing the patience and humility that would later distinguish him from many of his flashier contemporaries.
Everything changed in 1980 when Selleck was cast as Thomas Magnum in *Magnum, P. I. * The role made him a worldwide star almost immediately. As the laid-back, intelligent private investigator living in Hawaii, Selleck brought humor, brains, and genuine emotion to the character.
The show ran for eight seasons, earned him an Emmy Award, and cemented his place in television history. At the height of his television fame, Selleck moved smoothly into movies. He proved he could carry a romantic comedy with *Three Men and a Baby*, one of the biggest box office hits of the 1980s. He went on to star in films including *Mr.
Baseball*, *In & Out*, *High Road to China*, and *Quigley Down Under*, the last of which showcased his natural affinity for westerns. In the 2000s, Selleck returned to television with renewed energy, taking on more mature and thoughtful roles. His portrayal of police chief Jesse Stone in a series of television movies became one of the most respected performances of his career, exploring themes of loneliness, justice, and forgiveness. During the 2007–2008 season, he also joined the cast of *Las Vegas* as A.
J. Cooper, adding depth to a show set in the high-pressure world of Sin City. In 2010, Selleck landed another milestone role as Frank Reagan, the patriarch and police commissioner on *Blue Bloods*. The character became a symbol of steady leadership and moral conviction, anchoring the show for more than a decade and proving his enduring appeal across generations.
His personal life followed a quieter path. In 1971, Selleck married Jacquelyn Ray, a fashion model and actress, during a period when his career was still uncertain. The marriage lasted until 1982. One of the most significant outcomes of that relationship was Selleck’s decision to adopt Ray’s son, Kevin Shepard, born in 1966.
Kevin took the Selleck name and was raised as his own son, a commitment that remained solid even after the marriage ended. Kevin later became the drummer for the rock band Tonic, known for the late-1990s hit “If You Could Only See. ”
On August 7, 1987, at the peak of his *Magnum, P. I.
* fame, Selleck married Jill Joan Mack, an English actress and dancer he met in Britain while she was performing in the stage musical *Cats*. The couple had a daughter, Hannah, born on December 16, 1988. Selleck made deliberate choices to step back from career demands to be present for Hannah’s early years. She grew up largely out of the public eye and became a competitive show jumper.
Reflecting on his relationship with Sally Field, Selleck has spoken candidly about the timing. He had just separated from his first wife and was still processing the end of that marriage. “I wasn’t broken,” he once said, “but I was still figuring out who I was outside of a marriage. That changes how you approach love.
”
Field was already a familiar face to American audiences, having risen to fame as the girl next door in *Gidget* and as the title character in *The Flying Nun*. Selleck, meanwhile, had spent years auditioning and taking small parts, waiting for a breakthrough that felt close but never quite arrived. “We were both climbing,” Selleck said. “The difference was she had already reached a plateau I was still aiming for.
”
The two shared an amusing piece of pre-fame history: both had appeared on shows like *The Dating Game* in their early Hollywood days, though not on the same episode. “You’re young, you’re hopeful, you’re taking any job that comes,” Selleck recalled. “You have no idea which moments will matter later. ”
As Selleck’s career took off with *Magnum, P.
I. *, the demands of fame left little room for a calm personal life, while Field was earning Oscar nominations and critical acclaim. “We were both moving fast,” Selleck admitted, “not away from each other exactly, but forward in different directions. ” The relationship ended quietly, with no fight, no scandal, and no hard feelings, largely due to bad timing.
Selleck has always spoken of Field with deep respect. “Sally is exactly who people think she is,” he said. “She’s real. She’s kind.
And she’s stronger than she ever shows. ” Looking back decades later, he views the romance not with sadness but with gratitude. “Some people come into your life for a season,” he reflected. “They’re not meant to stay forever, but they matter forever.
”
