Why is Hailey Upton leaving Chicago P.D.? The unanticipated exit of the character explained

After spending 11 seasons on Chicago P.D., one of the fan-favorite stars of the show, Tracy Spiridakos, is finally leaving the series. Playing the popular character Hailey Upton, episode 13 of season 11 is the final time she will be appearing on the show.

Joining Chicago P.D. during season 4, Hailey Upton was a part of the Robbery-Homicide department in the Chicago Police Department. With her being in a previous relationship with Detective Jay Halstead - who was written off the series in season 10 - Upton was already heartbroken.

The latest episode of the series has finally confirmed why the character is making an exit from the show, and it is because she felt that she needed to start over. The episode ends on a cliffhanger, revealing that she had been looking for different opportunities in organizations like the FBI, DEA, and more, before heading to the airport.

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Hailey Upton makes her exit from Chicago P.D. because she wants to start over

Chicago P.D. season 11 episode 13 begins with the squad searching for Hank Voight as he has been kidnapped by Frank Matson. Torturing Voight, Matson asks him to call the one person who's closest to him. Since Hailey is his closest friend, Voight wanted to call her but refused to do so, leading to Matson torturing him even further.

Almost losing consciousness, Voight is visited by his old friends Alvin Olinsky and Elias Koteas, who had previously passed away, and ask him what pickle has he gotten himself into now. Voight tells them that he is ready to die, but Alvinsky tells him that it's not the right time for him to leave as Hailey still needs him.

Thankfully, Hailey is able to find Voight in time and they engage in a shootout with Matson, but he clips Hailey, leaving her injured. Voight then is able to land a blow on Matson and decides to kill the serial killer with his own hands.

Hailey survives the encounter and is taken to the hospital. However, the event leaves Hailey scarred as life hasn't exactly been easy for her in the last year.

Getting out of the hospital, Hailey starts crying in front of Voight, telling him that she needs to start over and that she can't do that as the squad still needs her.

However, Voight reassures her that they will be fine without her and that she deserves more in life. The season then ends with Hailey looking for further opportunities with the FBI and DEA, and then leaves for the airport, ending her story in Chicago P.D. with a cliffhanger.

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Why did Tracy Spiridakos decide to leave Chicago P.D.?

It was already confirmed in January that Tracy Spiridakos will be leaving Chicago P.D., but it looks like the actress also somewhat had the same motivations as the character for leaving the show. In an interview with Variety, Spiridakos revealed that she decided to leave the show as she wanted to see if there was something more for her out there.

“I decided at the end of my sixth season, which is when I had reached out to Gwen and to everyone at Wolf to let them know that I just wanted to do one more year. I wanted us to send out the character with one last season,” said Spiridakos.

Following her exit, Spiridakos will have appeared in over 140 episodes of Chicago P.D. Even though the character has left the show, her story ends on a cliffhanger which leaves the possibility for a return open for the future.

You can check out Chicago P.D. season 11 on Amazon Prime Video and stream it on NBC when it airs live.