Chicago P.D.’s Marina Squerciati Reveals She Welcomed Baby No. 2: ‘Real Reason’ I Missed 2 Episodes

Marina Squerciati was missing from the start of season 12 of Chicago P.D. — but there was good reason for her absence: she had another baby!

“2024 was a BIG year for me, literally,” Squerciati, 40, wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, December 31, reflecting on her life changes.

The actress shared a photo of her bare baby belly in a bikini to show she was in fact pregnant during the year and has since welcomed her and husband Eli Kay-Oliphant’s second baby.

“I thought I handled being a pregnant working mom with grace — swipe to see my daughter’s very different take,” she teased, sharing a drawing her eldest child drew that showed Squerciati making a crazy face while her spouse and daughter were smiling.

Squerciati also explained why she wasn’t in every episode of the current season of Chicago P.D., which returns with all-new episodes on Wednesday, January 8. (She’s played Kim Burgess since the show’s premiere in 2014.)

“PS. THIS was the real reason I wasn’t in the first two episodes of #ChicagoPD,” she added. “I was having a baby. Have a great NYE, friends!”

She ended the post with a series of hashtags that summed up her 2024 including “#workingmom,” “#motherofdragons,”  “#MamaInMiami,” “#PregnancyGlow” and “ChicagoPDStrong.”

“Oh my goodness! CONGRATS MAMA! ❤️,” fellow actress Katie Stevens wrote in the comments section.

Squerciati’s former Chicago P.D. costar Tracy Spiridakos, who played Hailey Upton until her season 11 exit, added three red heart emojis.

LaRoyce Hawkins — who plays Burgess’ bestie and fellow Intelligence Unit officer, Kevin Atwater — gushed about her journey as well. “The best to do it,” he replied in the comments. “Love you Burgess✨.”

Squerciati didn’t reveal any more details about her newborn, which is similar to the approach she had with her first child. The actress welcomed a daughter in May 2017, but has kept her name under wraps.

Squerciati, however, has given fans glimpses of her life as a mom via social media. Most recently, took her little one to see & Juliet on Broadway in Chicago.

“We don’t need no stinkin’ Romeo,” she captioned the December 5 snaps, which included both Squerciati and her daughter dressed up in wigs for the occasion. “Also I barely made it from work! We slapped on the wigs in the elevator, I ate my dinner on the El Platform, and we had to sprint a few blocks! (Just wanted to give you the reality behind the IG photos 🫠).”

Outside of welcoming a new baby, Squerciati has been filming season 12 of Chicago P.D. Earlier this season, her character made detective, but fans are still holding out hope for a TV wedding between Burgess and fiancé Adam Ruzek (Patrick Flueger).

Squerciati, for her part, exclusively told Us Weekly in November that she is equally as excited about a possible ceremony transpiring later this season.

“I’ve recently liked [designer] Samantha Sleeper wedding dresses and my algorithm on Instagram is all screwed up,” she told Us, adding with a laugh, “Instagram thinks I’m getting married!”

After all of Burgess and Ruzek’s ups and downs on the show — they got engaged for the third time during season 11 — Squerciati wants production to go all out on their big day.

“I want the white dress moment. Burgess needs a white dress,” she confessed. “Burgess is definitely picking dahlias and, like, centerpieces with candles. Come on, give the girl a moment!”

Chicago P.D. returns on NBC Wednesday, January 8, at 10 p.m. ET.