Tom Selleck’s California Farmland Was Destroyed By Droughts: ‘That Just Breaks Your Heart’

Tom Selleck once shared that living on his Ventura County, California, ranch has kept him “sane.” However, the property went through quite a devastating weather-related disaster — a series of droughts took out nearly all of the crops.

“That just breaks your heart,” the Blue Bloods actor told People in an interview published on Tuesday, April 16. “But with the rain we’ve had, the sick ones are getting better, and they’re all sprouting a lot of healthy growth.”

Tom, 79, first purchased the estate in 1988, at the end of his Magnum, P.I. reign. It was a functioning avocado farm with more than 1,500 trees on the property before the droughts wiped out most of the greenery. Luckily, his wildflowers have continued to blossom after the dry weather.

“I’ve planted them for years, and they bloom in cycles,” he shared. “When it’s coldest, one of them blooms and then another one comes in. I know it sounds stupid, but I just watch them grow.”

But one thing the Golden Globe winner discovered was his love for living a quieter life on the very private oasis.

“I do grunt work, and I make the rounds,” he told People in April 2020. “I like watching things grow. It’s a retreat.”

Tom lives on the ranch with his wife, Jillie Mack, with whom he shares daughter Hannah. The TV icon is also a dad to son Kevin, whom he welcomed during his marriage to his first wife, Jacqueline Ray.

“I knew intellectually what it would mean in terms of being a public person, but until you’ve lived it, there’s no way to understand it,” he said of his decision to settle in a home outside of Hollywood. “I had a feeling of, ‘I don’t think I’m cut out for this.'”

His desire to prioritize his family and his marriage ultimately led to his decision to live on such a secluded property.

“People would say, ‘Oh, he was bitten by the acting bug’ or, ‘He wanted to be a star,’” Tom explained. “I’ve never talked that way in my life. I just wanted to get a job and work.”

The Friends alum described acting as “a long road” but is nothing but grateful for where his life has taken him.

“A cigar and a glass of whiskey is a nice way to end the day,” he said. “I’ve had a very good life, a very lucky life. I don’t know if it’s what I figured I’d be doing, but it’s with a lot of gratitude.”