Blue Bloods' Erin Reagan stands out for a few reasons. First, she's the only daughter of Frank Reagan, and she's the only one in the Reagan household who isn't a police officer -- except the kids. And although you might know her as the stoic mom and Bureau Chief who sees the world in black and white, there are things you might not know about her.
Sure, since her mother's death, she's the only Reagan-born woman in the family, but there's more to Ms. Reagan than meets the eye. Here are 10 facts you didn't know about Blue Bloods' Erin Reagan.
Erin's Takes Her First Job
Looking at Erin Reagan today, you might have a hard time imagining her in any other job than a prosecutor, but the truth is she started out much like any teenager.
Frank revealed at the Reagan Sunday dinner table that Erin's first job was a cocktail waitress, much to her horror. At the time, she tried to lie and say she was working at a roller rink, but Frank knew better. She thought he had no idea, but he was a police officer and, besides, nothing gets by the co-head of the Reagan clan.
Different Paths Taken
We all know that the premise of Blue Bloods is the Reagan family business. Most everyone is a police officer or was, and so the Blue Bloods title is fitting. Even liberal Nicky showed an interest in taking the test to become part of the brothers in blue.
But she wasn't the first female in the Reagan house to make such a consideration. Erin thought about taking the police exam and joining her brothers in their careers. Surprisingly, her father talked her out of it, a decision Frank later regretted.
The Unexpected Teen Years
Looking at the straight-laced Erin Reagan we know and love with her strong sense of right and wrong, you might assume she was a goody-two-shoes growing up. Well, you’d be wrong in that guess. She wasn't as buttoned-up as she is today. In fact, she was a pretty rebellious teenager who liked to drive fast and stay out past curfew. She even lied a time or two, that we know of.
Maybe that's why she's so hard on Nicky, and she didn't seem too happy when Frank clued Nicky in on her secret past.
In The Clink
While Frank doesn't go into too much detail about Erin's slightly sketchy past, he does mention an incident involving her antics at the beach, which earned her a night in jail. Yes, jail, if you can believe that.
While we don’t know exactly what she did, the tidbit we received at the Reagan Sunday dinner was that Erin did "just about everything you're not allowed to do on a public beach at night." So, use your imagination, and you can probably guess at least a few of her minor illegal antics.
Young Love
Given Nicky’s age, you might be wondering how old Erin was when she and Jack got together. While it’s unclear how old she was when they tied the knot, we do know how old she was when they first met. She was only 19 years old when they met, and they married a few years later at Morgan Hall. Given that she’s now divorced, she thinks the hall is bad luck. We think it’s just Jack who was bad. Either way, she was just a teen when they met.
Recent events have fans wondering if they’ll ever get back together. All signs point to a hard maybe. There might be love in the future for the pair after all.
What's In A Name?
When we first met Erin, she went by a different name than she does today. The name on her office door read Erin Reagan-Boyle. That was the name she adopted when she married Jack, and she kept it because, well, it's her daughter's name too, and sometimes it's hard to let go.
But in Season 3, Episode 3, she decided to drop the -Boyle on her door and reclaim her maiden name. It was a big step for her to let go of her married mindset and adopt her single and independent new life.
Family to the Rescue
There were two times Erin found herself in grave danger where her family came to the rescue in the nick of time. Once was when bad guy, Richard Reid, cornered her in her office building and tried to rape her. Frank came to the rescue before the assault and shot the perp between the eyes.
The second time was when she was taken hostage by a criminal defendant, Raul Delgado. He was all set to get away with poor Erin when Danny uttered the family code phrase, she hit the deck, and Danny shot and killed Delgado.
Point It And Shoot
Although Erin never did take the police exam, she did grow up with five police officers in her family, so she's no stranger to guns. It makes sense, then, that she has had lots of practice at the gun range, and her aim shows it.
She might not carry a gun on her side every day, but she can out-shoot Danny and Jaime any day. Maybe her experience with bad guys gave her an extra keen eye for her target. If she doesn't have a gun in her purse, look in her desk drawer.
Play It Again, Jack
Erin met Jack Boyle when she was 19. They married and had Nicky -- their only child. After some years of marriage, Jack cheated on Erin, and it was all downhill from there. The couple divorced, and Erin got sole custody of their daughter.
Fast forward a few years, and Erin falls for Jack's charms once again. This time, she keeps in on the down-low, and when Jack wants to make the reunion public, Erin ends it. She decides that their romantic relationship will never work and doesn't want to put Nicky through any more pain. Instead of dating, Erin concentrates on her job and her family.
A Surprising Consult
From the first episode of Blue Bloods, we learned that we would never meet one of the Reagan children, Joe. And although he is mentioned in the show every now and again, we never had the chance to assess the relationship between Joe and the members of his family.
We did get a glimpse into his relationship with Erin, however. In fact, Erin revealed that every time she has a hard decision to make, she thinks of what Joe might say. So, he's always there with her, and it's taken her ten seasons to let us in on her secret.