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Marina Squerciati's Bittersweet Message for Tracy Spiradakos' Final Days on Set

The Chicago P.D. actress' exit comes with a bittersweet tribute from her co-star. 

By Jackie Manno

Tracy Spiridakos (Hailey Upton) may be leaving Chicago P.D., but not without some heavy emotions from her co-stars and close friends

How to Watch

Watch the Season 12 premiere of Chicago P.D. Wednesday, September 25 at 10/9c on NBC

On March 13, Marina Squerciati (Kim Burgess) posted a heartfelt tribute to Spiridakos for her final days on set, sharing a personal snapshot of her embracing LaRoyce Hawkins (Kevin Atwater) while in uniform. 

''Squeezing in all the Tracy hugs we can get,'' she captioned the post.

See the bittersweet moment later down in this article. 

RELATED: Tracy Spiridakos Shared a Bunch of Pics from Her Gorgeous, Friend-Filled Fall

Squerciati and Spiridakos managed to squeeze in some luxurious bonding time before her departure, as the two had a fun spa day for Spiridakos' 36th birthday in February. In the photos that Spiridakos posted, she and Squerciati wore matching bathrobes while taking candid selfies. 

''Spa day with @marinasqu 🥰🥰🥰 we had a lovely time, and yes, it took us a minute to sort out the camera angle on this one 😎 Thank you @langhamchicago !! 🥳,'' Spiridakos captioned her post, tagging the Langham Resort in Chicago. 

''Serious spa-ing with Tracy! @langhamchicago #staycation #girltriplife #birthdaytrip #birthdaytreat,'' Squerciati captioned her post. 

 

Tracy Spiridakos leaving Chicago P.D.

Showrunner Gwen Sigan officially revealed to Hello! in January that Season 11 of Chicago P.D. will be Spiridakos' last. Although she didn't give an exact reason for Upton's departure, she hinted as to what the character's journey will be after her exit. 

''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?" she told the outlet. "It will be a fun ride for her, and there are some interesting and new characters coming in for her to play against." 

RELATED: Tracy Spiridakos Had a Beach Day with a Sunset You Just Have to See

 

Chicago 1021 Tracy Spiridakos

As for Upton's character arc, Sigan confirmed to NBC Insider that Upton and Halstead legally divorced at the beginning of Season 11. 

"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. Now that we've gotten there, we can actually concentrate on what's next for her, you know? What's next and what is the light outside of it? Because that relationship wasn't all bad, but it's just that pain has been the dominant thing that we got to see last season, so now what is it? What is it gonna look like?" Sigan told us of the creative decision.