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How Halstead's Real Name Was Revealed During the Chicago P.D. Premiere
The former Intelligence Unit detective was known as Jay since Season 1.
While Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) has long been referred to as "Jay" since Season 1 of Chicago P.D., it turns out his legal name is something slightly different.
Halstead's real name
At the beginning of Season 11, Episode 1's "Unpacking" we catch a quick glimpse of Halstead and Upton's (Tracy Spiridakos) divorce papers. If you take a moment to pause the scene, it's clear that on the paperwork his actual full name is Jason Halstead, meaning Jay was a nickname during his entire time on the Intelligence Unit, while Upton's is Hailey Anne Upton. Who would've thought?
RELATED: Relive Hailey Upton's Incredible Evolution on Chicago P.D.
Halstead and Upton's divorce
Showrunner Gwen Sigan confirmed to NBC Insider that Halstead and Upton officially get divorced at the start of Season 11. While extremely sad, the writing has been on the wall since Halstead left for Bolivia early on in Season 10, which also marked Soffer's exit from the show.
"I think logistically, it took them a while. I mean, obviously, he has been overseas, and I think, even when she took off that ring, to me, it still was all of this pain of now you have to talk to Halstead about it. You guys gotta figure out what's next. You gotta figure out if you're really doing this and sort of go through all of those steps that it takes," she explained to us.
She also talked about what led the writes to make that decision between the characters. "It's nice that it happened offscreen and that now things are in a place of closure as far as pragmatically speaking, but not as far as emotionally speaking. Yeah, and just getting to see now that we've gotten there, we can actually concentrate on what's next for her, you know?"
RELATED: Tracy Spiridakos is Leaving Chicago P.D. After 7 Years: What to Know
She also discussed how Upton is coping with the whole ordeal. "It feels honest to me that, especially for her character who isn't the most, in tune, I think, with how she feels, you know? She's someone that almost probably just always wants to control her emotions and deny the ones that are messy. So, I think it's a real thing that she doesn't really know what she feels in that moment, and she knows that she doesn't feel good, and she knows that she feels angry, and she knows it's cracking in the job, it's coming out."
It's also been announced that Spiridakos will leave the show following Season 11 after playing Upton for seven years, though she'll appear in all 13 episodes.
"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 told Hello!. "It will be a fun ride for her, and there are some interesting and new characters coming in for her to play against."
