How Station 19’s Jaina Lee Ortiz keeps Jay Hayden’s romance ‘spicy’

Station 19 star Jaina Lee Ortiz said playing coy preserves her relationship with Costar Jay Hayden interesting.

‘Well, you know what’s interesting? We have never posted a photo,” said 37-year-old Ortiz People on Friday January 5. “I think intimacy is really sacred, and I think I’ve posted some very friendly looking photos that give you an idea, but sure. Use your imagination.”

When asked directly about her and Hayden’s social media posts implying a relationship, she added, “I mean, you can definitely infer that.” It just makes it more spicy, and I’m looking forward to that.”

Ortiz added, “I kind of love Jay.”

Hayden, 36, and Ortiz have been working together on the ABC firefighter drama since 2018, and they sparked romance speculation in July after sharing photos from a getaway to Pantelleria, Italy.

Hayden shared a video from the European excursion, revealing that they swam in the sea together and took several scenic routes around the city. Ortiz posted photos of herself sipping a drink while watching the sunset and tagged Hayden as the photographer.

Amid the romance rumors, fans interpreted their Christmas photos as confirmation that the two were in a relationship. “Merry Christmas, filthy animals!” Ortiz captioned a boomerang video of her clinking cocktails with one of her friends, quoting the iconic Home Alone line. Halfway through the clip, Hayden appeared on screen with a strange face. Ortiz tagged Hayden and his friend Eddie Rivera.

Both actors were previously married. Ortiz married Bradley Marques in 2010 after two months of dating, but he filed for divorce in February 2019.

Meanwhile, Hayden was previously married to Nicole Hayden for almost 15 years. We weekly confirmed in April 2021 that the former couple quietly split a year earlier, and Nicole filed for divorce in February 2020. The exes, who married in June 2005, share two children: daughter Amelia, 14, and son Hasey, 9.

Ortiz and Hayden aren’t the only Station 19 stars feeling off-screen sparks. Danielle Savre And Kevin McKidd (A Grey’s anatomy regular who has occasionally crossed over to the firefighter drama) was spotted on the PDA in June 2023 during a trip to Lake Como, Italy. McKidd seemingly confirmed their romance by posting clips from their trip to Zambia via Instagram later that month.

Unfortunately, the Station 19 cast still has a limited time to work together. ABC announced late last year that the drama will end with the upcoming seventh season.