For years, fans of NBC’s One Chicago universe have speculated about the electric chemistry between Chicago P.D. stars Jesse Lee Soffer and Tracy Spiridakos. On-screen, their dynamic as Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton captivated audiences, with storylines that often blurred the line between professional partnership and something far more personal. Now, fresh rumors suggest that art may have imitated life more closely than viewers realized—whispers claim the two may have once shared a connection that was “beyond just colleagues.”
Insiders close to the production recall that during the height of their Chicago P.D. arcs together, Soffer and Spiridakos were “nearly inseparable” off set. While neither star ever confirmed anything beyond a deep friendship, those who worked alongside them describe a rapport that felt unusually close. “They just clicked,” one crew member revealed. “It wasn’t forced. You could see it in the way they joked, the way they supported each other during long shoots. There was definitely something there that went deeper than the scripts.”
Fans noticed it too. Social media often lit up with speculation whenever behind-the-scenes photos of the pair surfaced, whether they were laughing between takes or arriving together at cast events. “Their energy was different,” one longtime viewer posted on Reddit. “You could feel it. Like they weren’t just acting in those emotional scenes—they were drawing from something real.”
Of course, both Jesse and Tracy have remained tight-lipped on the subject, preferring to keep their private lives out of the public eye. But the timing of certain moments—Soffer’s eventual exit from Chicago P.D. and Spiridakos’s continued rise in prominence—has only fueled the belief that their bond carried personal weight. “There’s a reason the Halstead-Upton storyline resonated so strongly,” one entertainment journalist suggested. “Because the actors behind it may have been channeling feelings that weren’t just fictional.”
Whether the rumored connection was ever romantic or simply an unusually strong friendship, fans remain fascinated by the possibility. For many, the idea that Jesse Lee Soffer and Tracy Spiridakos once shared something “above colleague level” only adds to the allure of the One Chicago legacy. And even if the truth stays behind closed doors, the chemistry they left on screen continues to speak volumes.
