‘Chicago Fire’ Alum Jesse Spencer Secretly Welcomed a Child With Wife Kali in 2022

Jesse Spencer has been keeping a big secret. The Chicago Fire alum is officially a dad after quietly welcoming his first child with wife Kali Woodruff Carr in April 2022. Although Spencer has not posted to social media about his little one, the news was confirmed in NBC’s profile on the actor, which reported that Spencer and Woodruff Carr welcomed their bundle of joy five months after Australian-born Spencer obtained his U.S. citizenship in November 2021.

The little one marked a new relationship milestone for Spencer and Woodruff Carr, a neuroscientist. The couple began dating in 2014 after first meeting at a Chicago music festival, per PEOPLE. Five years later, they became engaged when Spencer dropped to one knee and popped the question during a hiking trip along the Inca trail in the Peruvian Andes. They went on to tie the knot on June 27, 2020, the same date as Woodruff Carr’s parents’ and grandparents’ anniversaries, in the bride’s hometown of Neptune Beach, Florida. They went on to welcome their first child together less than two years later, though they had not announced they were expecting, nor have they publicly shared the exciting news on social media.

Spencer and Woodruff Carr were counting down the days to their little one’s arrival at the same time that the actor announced his exit from Chicago Fire. In a statement shared in October 2021, Spencer confirmed that he would be leaving Firehouse 51 after having played Matthew Casey since the show’s premiere in 2012.

“This was a difficult decision because I have loved the show from the start but there are other things that I would like to do in the future, and there’s some family that I need to take care of and 18 years is a long time,” the actor said in a roundtable interview. “I was marking off these milestones and looking to the future … and it was time.”

While Spencer exited as a main cast member during the show’s milestone 200th episode, he has returned to Chicago Fire for guest appearances on several occasions, showing up in episodes of Season 10, 11, and 12, the most recent season. Spencer’s past credits include Curse of the Talisman, Uptown Girls, Swimming Upstream, Winning London, The Girl Is in Trouble, House, and more. He is also well-known for his starring role as Bill Kennedy in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.