‘Reacher’ star Alan Ritchson reveals feud with former classmate Matt Gaetz: ‘We are adversaries’

“Reacher” star Alan Ritchson revealed his childhood feud with former high school classmate ex-Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz on Wednesday, describing the politician as his adversary.

The 42-year-old actor did not hold back his disdain for Gaetz when the politician’s name came up during a recent interview.

“That motherf–ker. We are adversaries,” Ritchson told GQ.

Ritchson – who portrays the titular character Jack Reacher in the Amazon Prime series – was born in North Dakota but his family moved to the Sunshine State when he was 10.

His parents, Dave and Vickie – both airmen – were stationed at Eglin Air Force Base and settled down in Niceville in the 1990s, Mid Bay News reported.

He attended Niceville High School where Gaetz also studied. Gaetz graduated from the prestigious school in 2000, a year before Ritchson.

Ritchson expressed his displeasure with his fellow Floridians who continued to vote for Gaetz to represent Florida’s 1st District, which makes up the westernmost part of the state’s panhandle.

“It’s shocking to me that the panhandle of Florida continues to vote for somebody—knowing everything we know about him and the promises that he’s made behind closed doors about pardoning certain criminals—he’s just not a good dude!” Ritchson told GQ.

Gaetz represented the district from 2016 until his resignation in 2024.

His time in DC was marred by several controversies related to the House ethics rules.

He was also under investigation for allegations he paid 12 women more than $90,000 for sex and/or drugs,” said a draft of the House’s ethics report against the 42-year-old released in December 2024.

Gaetz was also accused of having sex with a minor. Allegations he has denied.

Gaetz was reelected to his seat in 2024 but resigned on Nov. 13 after then-President-elect Donald Trump tapped him to be his Attorney General.

He withdrew his nomination on Nov. 21 after a meeting with Senate Republicans to not be a distraction to Trump’s return to the White House.

Ritchson revealed he thought about running for office to “outdo somebody like (Gaetz) but decided against it because he’s not “duplicitous enough to succeed in politics.”

The actor, who said the demographics for the “Reacher” audience is a near even split between men and women and Democrats and Republicans, shared an insight into his political ideology.

“There are certain people that do a good job of staying true to who they are, but they’re ineffective,” he said.