Hanky panky on an avocado ranch? Tom Selleck had a
crush on a famous actress, but there was a catch. Even celebrities get hall passes from time to
time. Tom Selleck and his wife, Jillie Mack, have been married since 1987. They don't
have an open relationship by any means, but if one very specific set
of circumstances happened, Selleck had permission to have a
fling with another A-list actor. When Tom Selleck first laid eyes
on Jillie Mack in the early '80s, she was dressed as a cat. Not for
kicks, but because of her role in "Cats" the musical on the West End. Selleck
was in London to film "Lassiter" and went to see the musical multiple times, and
ended up taking Mack out for dinner. Mack later moved to the U.S. and
made a few appearances on "Magnum, P.I." They had a small wedding in 1987,
and Selleck stepped back from acting and his successful run on "Magnum, P.I." so he
could focus on Mack and on building a family. A year later, they bought a 65-acre
avocado ranch in Ventura, California, and found out they had a famous
neighbor: Italian actress Sophia Loren. "Good evening, Mr. Donatello." "Holy jumping cow." And it just so happened that Selleck
had a little bit of a crush on her. Mack was willing to play ball…sort
of. In an interview with Contactmusic, Selleck revealed the impossible scenario that had
to happen for him to cheat with Loren. He said: "It had to happen just like this,
if I was on my way to Home Depot and [Loren] was out on the driveway in her
bathrobe and she said exactly these words: 'Thomaso, would you like a
cappuccino?' I could go in." "Sometimes everything goes exactly as planned." Then Selleck added, quote,
"but it never happened." Despite the jokes about an affair
with Loren, Selleck is a family man through and through. Selleck and Mack's
daughter Hannah was born in December 1988, and Tom also has an adopted son named Kevin
from his previous marriage to Jacqueline Ray. While speaking to People in 2012,
Selleck explained that he was glad he made the choice to take an acting
hiatus back in the '80s, saying: "My first priority is time with my family. I think wanting time away from
work has been good for that." In fact, Selleck has often talked
about the benefit of stepping back from the limelight from time to time.
In an interview with People in 2020, he told the outlet that being famous can be
overwhelming. Although he liked being on "Magnum, P.I.," it didn't allow him the time he
needed for his personal life. He explained: "I'm a fairly private person. And I've always
treasured the balance between work and time with my family. It's always about them. My
relationships and my ranch keep me sane." So what's the secret to a 37-year-long
marriage that can withstand the pressures of fame and a joking promise of having an
affair with Sophia Loren? In Selleck's eyes, it's simple. He told Good Housekeeping: "Hopefully you marry someone who you not
only love, but who you like as well.I just still enjoy my wife's company
enormously. She's hilariously funny, and we make a point, no matter how busy
we are, to stop and spend time together." And by showing each other constant affection, they don't sweat the romantic holidays,
like Valentine's Day. Selleck said: "We don't like to emphasize one day
of the year. We try to celebrate the fact that this is a daily commitment, and
pay attention to each other every day." "There's no replacement for the time you don't
spend with the people you really care about."
