Are These ‘Chicago P.D.’ Stars Secretly Dating in Real Life?
Did love blossom on the set of Chicago P.D.? Tracy Spiridakos and Jesse Lee Soffer played partners on the NBC drama. But they may be a duo off-screen as well, according to a recent report.
Are Tracy Spiridakos and Jesse Lee Soffer a couple?
On Chicago P.D. Spiridakos plays Detective Hailey Upton, a member of CPD’s Intelligence Unit. Soffer played her partner (and later husband) Detective Jay Halstead. The two were a powerful duo in the Dick Wolf police procedural until Soffer left the show in season 10. Now, a source tells the New York Post that the actors have been quietly dating for years.
Neither Spiridakos nor Soffer has commented on the relationship rumors. But the two have posted about spending time together off-screen. In August 2023, Spiridakos and Soffer both shared a photo on Instagram of themselves and former Chicago P.D. showrunner Derek Haas walking the picket line together during the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Spiridakos called her One Chicago co-star ‘the absolute best’
Soffer joined Chicago P.D. in its first season, but after a decade of playing Halstead, he decided it was time to move on.
“I really wanted to grow and expand, and we’ve only got this one trip,” he explained to Variety. “If I signed up again, it would have been for another three years. I would have turned 40 on the show. I thought, ‘You know what? It’s time to take a risk.’”
Spiridakos celebrated her costar in an August 2022 Instagram post after his exit from the show was announced.
“I guess the word is out…Jesse, what can I say, you’re the absolute best,” she wrote. “Thank you for your kindness, your guidance and your friendship. You’re the greatest onscreen husband a girl could ask for. I’ll miss being on set with you every day. I can’t wait to see what the world has in store for you next.”
Hailey Upton is also leaving ‘Chicago P.D.’
Halstead’s sudden departure came early in season 10, when his character left to join an Army task force tracking down a cartel in Bolivia. His decision to leave the Windy City was the final nail in the coffin of his relationship with Upton, whom he married in season 9. In the season 11 premiere, she signed the divorce papers to formally end their marriage.
With her relationship with Halstead over, it seems that Upton is contemplating other big changes in her life. In the season 11 premiere, she struggled with anger toward a possible suspect as she investigated a brutal double homicide. Could she be on her way out of the Intelligence Unit? Unfortunately, yes. Spiridakos is confirmed to be leaving Chicago P.D. after season 11.
In the upcoming episodes, Upton will struggle to come to terms with where she’s at in life, showrunner Gwen Sigan told NBC.
“We’re really going to dig into that this season, and dig into growth and transformation — how do you get through your life not looking like what you thought it was going to look like, and realizing that there could be more out there that is maybe better for you?” Sigan said. “It will be a fun ride for her, and there are some interesting and new characters coming in for her to play against.”
Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC. Episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
Source: New York Post
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