Fresh off her divorce from Andy Bates, Joelle Carter spoke with Parade in 2017 about their separation. While sharing how she was able to relate to her character on “Chicago Justice,” Carter said that both she and Laura Nigel were “strong survivors” when faced with challenges. “I understand her struggles with her custody case, although mine is so much more amicable, and I understand just the idea of potentially losing the gift of parenting,” she explained. “Being so dedicated to a job takes an enormous amount of time because of her sense of wanting to serve justice. In a way, she’s married to this job.”
Of her divorce, Carter said that she and Bates managed to settle their case out of court. She added that they parted ways in late 2016. Despite the pair no longer being together, Carter said they still have a lot of love and respect for one another. “We came to a place where we found a really nice way to share our daughter,” she said. “I do have such a respect for family — our family, and we still support each other.”
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Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter months later, Carter admitted that she considered leaving “Chicago Justice” while in the midst of her divorce from Bates, saying, “I was very straight with [showrunner] Dick [Wolf] that I just didn’t know if it was going to work.” Fortunately, Wolf was supportive and understanding of her situation. “He said, ‘Well, you come to me… and we’ll deal with it,'” Carter explained. “He was very open that that could be a possibility if I needed it.”
