The Rookie’s Eric Winter addresses the painful breakup between Lucy and Tim, detailing how it impacts season 7. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind for Tim Bradford (Winter) heading into season 7, bouncing back from losing his job and then returning as a training officer. There’s also the fact that he broke up with Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil), but the fan-favorite couple seems to be in a good place as the new episodes begin.
In an interview with Parade, Winter talked about the dynamic between Lucy and Tim. The actor makes clear that Tim still loves Lucy, though he feels he’s not good enough for her. In the quote below, Winter also addresses the fact that he regrets how some aspects of the break-up unfolded:
Tim clearly cares about her. He broke up with her because he cares about her. It was a true statement of, ‘It’s not you, it’s me, I’m not good enough for you, and I don’t think you deserve the drama I could cause in your life with my past and all that.’ So, he, again, did what he thought was the best move, but probably regrets aspects of the way it went down and wishes he could have had the confidence or the smarts to be able to at least talk to her about it first, where he’s at, how he feels. But that’s just not Tim’s way. He had to learn the hard way, I guess, with his decision.
