'Blue Bloods' Star Donnie Wahlberg Reveals He Actually Cried at First Reagan Family Dinner After Linda's Death

The past three seasons of Blue Bloods have seen Detective Danny Reagan living as a single dad following the death of Linda Reagan between Seasons 7 and 8. Although Linda's death was never shown on the show, the first Reagan family dinner without her was still an emotional scene to film. In a new interview with TVInsider, actor Donnie Wahlberg admitted he teared up during production.

"The first dinner scene without Linda was really emotional, just genuine emotion," Wahlberg said when asked about the most memorable family dinner scenes. "Nobody was acting that day. My tears were real, because even though in real life, Amy Carlson was still around, I was going to be moving forward on the show without her. I wouldn't have a partner anymore to help me with these boys — on-screen and off, to be frank. It's a big loss, and I'll always remember the emotion of that day."

Elsewhere, Wahlberg noted that Andrew Terraciano, who plays Danny's son Sean, has taken on a bigger role in the dinner scenes lately.

"He's becoming the voice of the youth at the dinner table, which is really great," Wahlberg said. "It does cause some problems for Danny because he's often coming down on the opposite side of where his father stands on things, so it's created some interesting fun."

The Blue Bloods writers wrote Linda out of the show after Amy Carlson chose not to renew her contract. The aftermath of her death became a major plot point as Danny adjusted to life as a single dad and tracked down the people responsible for Amy's death. However, since Danny's stories lean heavily on the crimes-of-the-week he tackles with Detective Maria Baez (Marisa Ramirez), the show has not given Danny a chance to date again.

"Yeah. I think eventually it'll happen. But I just think, you know, the audience had such a love and respect for Danny and Linda, and I think it, whatever it is, just has to be authentic," Wahlberg told PopCulture.com when asked about Danny's future love life. "I think if it's a stunt or it's done for the wrong reasons, I think the audience won't like it to be honest with you."

Wahlberg did not rule out Danny falling in love with another woman, but he also believed it would be against his character to do so.

"I don't think for this particular show, it's right," Wahlberg explained. "I don't think that would be true to Danny Reagan to be honest with you. He loved Linda and I think for someone to take her place on that show, it better be really special or it's just not worth doing it."

Blue Bloods airs on CBS Fridays at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes return in 2020.

Photo credit: CBS