The Rookie’s Tim Bradford and girlfriend Lucy Chen have weathered many storms in their relationship — and meeting Tim’s mom looks to be another rocky chapter for the couple.
In Us Weekly’s exclusive sneak peek from the Monday, February 23, episode, Tim (Eric Winter) gets ambushed by his mother (Sela Ward), who fans quickly learn have never heard about Lucy (Melissa O’Neil).
“Genny said, ‘I’m sorry,’” Tim tells Lucy in the preview, referring to his sister (Peyton List) sending him an ominous text. “For what?” Lucy asks as someone knocks at the door.
Tim opens the door to find his mom, visibly shocked that she’s in the entry way of his and Lucy’s house.
“Hey, Timmy!” she says, laughing and giving him a big hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
Tim stumbles to find the words, asking, “I thought you were staying with Genny?” to which his mom says she was but Genny was “worried” he’d feel “left out because I never stay with you.”
Tim is at a loss for words when Lucy comes around the corner from the kitchen to introduce herself.
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“Hi, who are you?” Tim’s mom asks, throwing Lucy for a loop. She regains her composure, answering, “Hi, I’m Lucy Chen. It’s so nice to meet you Mrs. Bradford.”
When Mrs. Bradford asks whether Lucy is “one of Tim’s coworkers,” Lucy shoots Tim an awkward glance. “Yeah, among other things,” Lucy replies, letting out an uncomfortable laugh.
“I’m sorry,” Tim chimes in. “Lucy and I, we are dating.”
His mom seems unphased by the revelation, responding, “Oh, OK. That’s nice,” before going outside to get her luggage.
While she’s out of the room, Lucy confronts Tim about why his mother has no idea she exists.
“You didn’t tell your mom about me?” Lucy asks, visibly upset. “You know we’re not close. I told you that,” Tim claims.
Lucy points out, “I don’t talk to my parents at all but I drop them a line when I move in with someone,” referring to her and Tim’s latest relationship milestone, which fans saw transpire earlier this season.
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“I was going to tell her I just haven’t gotten around to it yet,” Tim alleges.
When Lucy reminds him that they “started seeing each other three years ago,” he fires back, “But then we broke up,” arguing that he just doesn’t “want to upset her.”
The pair’s disagreement is interrupted when Tim’s mom comes back to the door and the couple grab her bags and bring them inside together.
Fans of The Rookie know that Lucy and Tim have been close for years, even when they briefly broke up during season 6.
The pair worked to repair their relationship throughout season 7, before Tim asked Lucy to move in during the May 2025 finale.
“Whatever the definition of end game is, I think we’re getting there for sure,” showrunner Alexi Hawley exclusively told Us in May 2025 of his team’s plans for Chenford during season 8.
O’Neil, for her part, teased the arrival of Tim’s mom as a turning point for the pair.
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“I think we get to see an aspect of Lucy in relation to his mother that’s one of the stronger parts of her wheelhouse. There’s a beautiful conversation between the two of them that I’m excited for that,” the actress told TV Insider on Wednesday, February 18. “There’s a lot of insight there into who her partner is and how all of this has come about and potentially why he is the way that he is. And yet we don’t villainize the mother in the process, which I think is important.”
O’Neil noted, “Families aren’t perfect. And I think in this way it makes them stronger, but that’s all to be seen. By that I mean, you really just never know what’s going to happen on our show.”
The Rookie airs on ABC Mondays at 10 p.m. ET.
