Stephanie Sigman plays Captain Jessica Cortez in the first two seasons of the crime series SWAT. While her character left the series due to an unhappy love affair, The actress had her own reasons behind the scenes for leaving.
In the series, Cortez left due to a failed relationship
As Screenrant magazine revealed in February of this year, actress Stephanie Sigman left the series for completely different reasons than her character.
In SWAT, Sigman played a key role as Captain Jessica Cortez: In seasons 1 and 2, she is not only the commanding officer within the team, but also begins a romantic relationship with her colleague Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson (Shemar Moore).
Since such a relationship is actually taboo within the team, this romance initially takes place in secret – until they get caught. As a result, Jessica and Hondo decide to prioritize their respective careers and go their separate ways.
Captain Jessica Cortez finally leaves the team towards the end of season 2 to join a secret undercover mission with the FBI. In the following season 3, it was revealed that Cortez had left SWAT for the FBI.
Behind the scenes, Sigman moved on to new projects
However, the real reason for Stephanie Sigman’s exit from the series was less dramatic than pleasant. Behind the scenes, the actress had decided that it was time to face new challenges.
For example, after leaving SWAT, she lent her voice to the character Abuelita in the animated series Royal Crackers and appeared in the 2023 film Murder City.
The first 6 seasons of SWAT are currently streaming on Netflix.