The flame has gone out on Dawsey. Monica Raymund, who has played Gabriela Dawson on NBC’s Chicago Fire since its 2012 debut, announced on Tuesday, May 15, that she will not return to the drama for season 7.
In the handwritten note posted to Twitter, the actress, 31, wrote: “It has been an honor to play Dawson on Chicago Fire and one of the most meaningful experience of my life. I am so thankful for the journey and especially to all of you for watching, but I have made the decision that it’s time for me to move on to the next chapter in life. I’ll always be proud to have played a fierce paramedic with such an incredible cast and crew. On to the next! See you on the ice. Love, Monica.”
— Monica Raymund (@monicaraymund) May 15, 2018
Season 6 ended with Dawson taking a job offer in Puerto Rico, causing fans to wonder if she’d be back. Following the finale, Us Weekly spoke exclusively to Jesse Spencer, who plays Dawson’s husband Matt Casey on the show, and he admitted that he’d like to see his character single.
“I think they do [belong together]. They’ve always been playing toward that. But just because I think they do, things happen in life,” he said on our Watch With Us podcast. “That’s the sadness of it, but I think they know that they’re a good couple together and they’ve been through a lot. It’d be sad to see something like a baby comes up, they can’t figure out or move around or work together on … it is kind of tragic.”
He continued: “If the relationship couldn’t last, then it would be good for Casey to be single and focus on being a firefighter again. I think, taking time to take a step back from relationships and to gather himself again … they’ve seen a lot of tragedy so they’re good at picking up the pieces and moving on. I’d like to see Casey be a single guy and really focus on his job and do what he does best.”
Chicago Fire is set to return to NBC in the fall.
