Did you know that Blue Bloods star Tom Selleck was sued in 2015 for allegedly stealing water?
Keep watching to learn more about the shady side of the Magnum P.I.
star.
Before Tom Selleck found lasting love with Jillie Joan Mack, the Magnum P.I.
star was married to American model Jacqueline Ray.
As Country Living reported, they were together for a decade and Selleck even adopted Ray's
son.
Just as he was making it big in Hollywood, however, the pair divorced in 1982.
While Selleck hasn't spoken much about the split, Radar reported in 2016 that he was
spotted wiping away tears during a screening of a made-for-Hallmark Jesse Stone movie.
According to the outlet, he got emotional while watching his character reminisce about
getting divorced.
There's been some speculation about what caused the end of their marriage, including an unverified
rumor that he brought heartbreak upon himself while shooting Magnum P.I. in Hawaii, as he
was reportedly involved in various romantic dalliances while filming on the island.
A source alleged to Radar that this led to Ray filing for divorce.
The source said:
"He was playing the field — and enjoying it."
Tom Selleck wasn't single for long when he traveled to London to shoot Lassiter in 1983
and saw British stage actor Jillie Joan Mack performing in Cats.
"I was doing the show and then someone said, 'I think he's watching you.'"
According to People, he was so smitten that he kept going back to the theater before finally
taking his future bride to dinner.
The pair wed in 1987 and Selleck quit Magnum P.I.
the following year to focus on his wife and their daughter, Hannah.
He then moved his family onto a secluded, sprawling ranch in Ventura, California.
Despite a picture-perfect relationship, Selleck did face some cheating rumors in the late
'80s as tabloids wondered if he was having an affair with his bombshell next-door neighbor,
Sophia Loren.
Selleck set the record straight, telling The Telegraph he had Mack's permission to be unfaithful
under specific circumstances.
Selleck said:
"It had to happen just like this.
If I was on my way to Home Depot and she was out on the driveway in her bathrobe and she
said exactly these words: 'Thomaso, would you like a cappuccino?'
I could go in.
But it never happened."
Over the years, Tom Selleck has repeatedly gushed about his ranch life and even called
his 65-acre property in Ventura County, California, quote, "a real blessing," according to People.
The actor purchased the land, complete with a 1926 ranch house and a 20-acre avocado farm
in 1988, at the height of his Magnum P.I.
days.
In fact, he quit the show so he could better focus on his family and his property, as he
told People in 2020.
Selleck said to the outlet:
"My relationships and my ranch keep me sane.
I do grunt work and I make the rounds.
I like watching things grow.
It's a retreat."
He expressed a similar sentiment to Yahoo! Entertainment in 2013 when he called ranch
life a, quote, "terrific counterpoint" to his Hollywood career.
Despite all the praise, there is one thing Selleck dislikes about his farm and it might
surprise you.
While speaking with People in 2012, he revealed his true feelings towards avocados, telling
the outlet:
"I don't eat 'em.
Honestly, they make me gag."
In July 2015, Tom Selleck and his wife Jillie Mack were sued by the Calleguas Municipal
Water District in Ventura County, California.
According to NBC News, they were allegedly stealing water from a public hydrant in order
to water their avocado farm.
As explained in the lawsuit, an investigator spotted a truck filling up with water and
driving it back to Selleck's ranch at least a dozen times during the ongoing droughts
of 2013 and 2014.
The district claimed it sent the TV P.I.
a cease-and-desist letter, which he didn't adhere to, and so they asked that a court
step in and ban Selleck from using the water ever again.
They also demanded that he reimburse them the $21,000 they spent to hire the investigator.
"I think I can explain this whole misunderstanding."
Eric Bergh, a resources manager for the Calleguas Municipal Water District, explained that Selleck's
property is actually located in a different water district, and so he had no right to
take water from the people living in Ventura County.
Bergh argued:
"[T]he water that we have secured for them, that they have paid for, should remain in
district boundaries."
In the end, they reached a settlement and Selleck agreed to pay the P.I.'s bill.
The settlement also banned him from taking water from the district in the future, per
CBC.
In 2016, American Advisors Group named Tom Selleck a national spokesperson.
Over the years, he has starred in multiple commercials for the company.
AAG claims to help all older adults have the retirement they deserve with considerate solutions
and personalized service.
The company does so by focusing on reverse mortgages, and in his ads, the actor often
boasts about the benefits of taking out a loan against your home in order to make the
most of retired life.
But are the company's promises too good to be true?
In 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accused AAG of false advertising, arguing,
"[American Advisors Group's] inflated estimates and false statements were deceptive under
the Consumer Financial Protection Act and violated a 2016 administrative consent order
entered by the Bureau against AAG."
Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director David Uejio said AAG, quote, "violated
consumers' trust."
He went on to make this demand:
"[AAG must] pay $173,400 in consumer redress and a $1.1 million civil money penalty."
Meanwhile, retirement blogs have also analyzed Selleck's commercials, but some have arrived
at a different conclusion.
New Retirement, for example, asked if Spokesperson Selleck was telling the truth about reverse
mortgages.
While they conceded that the actor was making some "misleading" statements on behalf of
AAG, they determined his ads were, quote, "pretty truthful" overall.
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