Chicago Fire’s Kelly Severide and Stella Kidd’s Relationship Timeline
Chicago Fire has been filled with red-hot romances throughout its run, but nothing compares to Kelly Severide’s relationship with Stella Kidd.
When fans first met Kelly (played by Taylor Kinney), he was a rough and tough firefighter who was known for being a ladies’ man. However, the arrival of Stella (Miranda Rae Mayo) in season 4 shook things up — and changed Kelly for the better.
The twosome has weathered many storms, including a season 9 moment when Kelly ices out Stella while she’s studying for her lieutenant’s exam.
“Of course, I know I don’t need your help with some test. I needed you to do what you do best: To tell me, ‘You got this, Stella Kidd,’” Stella says to which he replies, “This attitude of yours is exactly why I know you got this, Stella Kidd, and it’s why I know how badly I screwed up, and it’s why I’m never gonna let you go away from me again.”
Chicago Fire airs on NBC Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
Scroll down to relive all of Stella Kidd and Kelly Severide’s relationship highs and lows:
© Adrian S. Burrows Sr./NBC
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© NBC
"So, late one night, I'm coming back from a tactical training course at the academy. The moon was bright as hell that night, I remember I unlock my door and I hear this sound coming from the roof,” Stella recalled during the April 2016 episode. “So I look up, then suddenly, there's Severide rappelling down from my skylight singing [Frank] Sinatra's’ This Love Of Mine’ with a rose in his mouth. He'd been mooing over me for weeks.” What Kelly didn’t know was that Stella was married when he made his grand romantic gesture.
Luckily, no one pressed charges for his breaking and entering. “I talked Grant out of calling the cops. Kelly went home and the next day he comes to me and he says, ‘Thanks, I owe you a big favor,’” Stella adds, to which Kelly says, “Still do, I guess.”
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The pair’s passionate kiss moment in the backroom is brief but noteworthy for Stellaride fans. Two episodes later, during the season 4 finale, the duo takes their relationship to the next level, having sex at Stella’s apartment in an attempt to blow off steam following a funeral for a fellow firefighter. What they don’t know is that Stella’s ex-husband is lurking in her apartment.
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The story line picks up during season 5, episode 2 after Grant safely makes it out of surgery. Although Stella convinces Grant to voluntarily commit himself into a rehab program, she chooses not to press charges for attempted murder. The choice causes tension between Stella and Kelly and their romantic relationship ends before really getting started.
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Despite hooking up with other people during the first half of season 6, Stella and Kelly start to realize they both have feelings for each other.
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"Kelly, look I know that communication is not your first language, but what's going on with you lately?" Stella asks him while at Molly’s. "You've been dodging me and just acting off ever since Otis got hurt. Can you just, for once, just tell me what you're feeling?" Kelly pauses for a minute and then leans in to kiss her, marking the beginning of their official romance.
Their relationship, however, is instantly put to the test when Stella meets Kelly’s mom later that season and she isn’t exactly welcoming. Later on in season 6, Stella chooses to move out and starts living in Herrmann’s attic apartment in order to help move their relationship forward. The new living arrangement comes around the same time that Kelly’s ex, Renee (Sarah Shahi) comes back to town and monopolizes his time with a case.
By episode 19, “Where I Want to Be,” the couple are back on solid ground despite living apart. "Wherever you are, is where I want to be," Kelly tells Stella after going to her new place.
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At the end of season 7, episode 8, “The Solution to Everything,” Stella confronts Kelly about their status, calling him out for pushing her away recently. She then breaks up with him, saying, “I love you, but I can’t be with you anymore.”
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“You deserve a better man than me. So, I decided … I decided, I’m going to be the man you deserve,” he says after opening the door. The two shared a kiss before Stella joins him inside the forest getaway.
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Kelly’s plan, however, backfires when Stella thinks that he is no longer interested in her or doesn’t believe she has what it takes to become a lieutenant. He then has to reassure her during season 9, episode 6, “Blow This Up,” that he’ll never leave her despite how his recent actions made it seem like the opposite.
“This attitude of yours is exactly why I know you got this, Stella Kidd, and it’s why I know how badly I screwed up, and it’s why I’m never gonna let you go away from me again,” Kelly tells Stella after she yells at him for being so MIA.
Stella responds, “You are not the decider. And pretty soon, we’re gonna be in the same rank, so listen up. I am the one who’s never going to let you get away again.”
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“I don’t want you to ever leave me. Stella Kidd, will you marry me?” he asks. Stella says, “Hell yeah.”
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The episode ends in a cliffhanger after Kelly asks whether she wants to get married. Season 10, episode 11 picks up the morning after their conversation, with Stella saying, “I meant what I said last night. I want to marry you. Yes, yes, a million times.”
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At the end of the January 2022 episode, Kelly proposes once again — this time with a ring — and Stella accepts. “I was blown away by what you did for Pelham. It was brave and beautiful and strong,” he tells Stella, adding, “I am actually the luckiest man in Chicago.” The two seal it with a kiss outside the firefighter gala.
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Things only got more intense after Stella tried to bring up paying for the reception alcohol and the food tasting they had set. Kelly blew off the tasting, which made Stella confide in Herrmann that she wasn’t sure whether the wedding would happen.
When Kelly ends up in the hospital after getting beat up by men associated with a drug ring, the pair make amends. Kelly later suggests that they move the wedding to ease the stress it has brought to their relationship.
“The only way to learn how to run into a real fire is by doing it,” he tells his fiancée while at Chicago Med. “So, let’s just do it. Let’s not wait another four months. Let’s do it next week.”
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With the help of their firehouse family — including the return of Matt Casey as Kelly’s best man — the lovebirds exchanged vows during the season 10 finale, “The Magnificent City of Chicago,” which aired in May 2022. “Kelly, the simple truth is that you’re magic to me. When I’m at my lowest, you lift me up and you never leave my side. You are the goodest,” Stella said during her vows. “Yes, we’re taking a huge, crazy leap into the unknown but we’re doing it together. And when I need to hear it, you’ll tell me, ‘You got this, Stella Kidd.’ And I’ll know everything will be OK because it always is when I’m with you. I love you with everything I got, Kelly Severide, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Kelly wrote equally as touching words for his bride. “Stella, I decided a long time ago that if I was going to be with you, I needed to be worthy of you — which seemed impossible. How do I become worthy of someone brave enough to show who they are inside and out? What makes me this better person I keep hearing about is you keeping me from locking things up,” he explained. “Instead, you made sure you really knew me. And by some miracle, you still love me. Stella, I might never be worthy of you, but I promise to spend the rest of my life trying. I love you.”
© Adrian S. Burrows Sr./NBC
© Adrian S Burrows Sr/NBC
The twosome briefly part ways while running away from the bad guys — both of which are linked to the drug gang that Kelly is going to testify against. When Stella sees one of the gunmen heading straight for her husband, she lures him toward her and then falls over a tree branch. Just before the man can fire his gun at Stella, Kelly comes from the shed and stabs him in the back, saving her life. The police swarm the area moments later, revealing that they had been tracking the hitmen all along.
While the scary incident is behind them, Kelly can’t shake that his wife almost died because he wanted to testify against a group of bad men. Ultimately, Kelly makes sure that the dirty police officer responsible for the whole thing is brought to justice and Stella tells him that she will always back his play, putting his mind at ease.
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When the season returned for episode 10, in January 2023, Kelly storms into the building to make sure his wife is OK. Stella is rushed to the hospital and despite being injured in the blast she made a full recovery — after a few weeks off the job. The PTSD, however, continues to plague Stella, who leans on her husband as she navigates her emotional recovery.
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While no one gets hurt, Stella is upset that her spouse didn’t listen to her and risked his life. She later calls him a “robot” for not thinking about how scared she is about explosions following her hospitalization earlier that year.
The tension between the pair spills over into their teams, who start picking fights at Firehouse 51. Kelly eventually admits to Stella that he has to keep his personal feelings out of their day-to-day otherwise he would fall apart with fear over losing her, which she accepts as an apology and they move forward as a team.
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One month later, NBC released a teaser for season 12 of the hit series, including the first look at Kelly and Stella reunited onscreen. “I’m here. We’re in this together,” Kelly tells his wife before kissing her back at the firehouse.
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The episode revealed a six-month time jump since viewers last saw the cast, and during that time, Stella admitted she didn’t fully trust Kelly. Despite having issues with Kelly working on fire investigation cases after his last hiatus, she gives him her blessing to travel to Arizona for another case.
During season 12, episode 4, which aired in February 2024, Stella and Kelly’s communication seemed to be fully on track, as Kelly texted Stella that he was heading home once again.
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However, Stella eventually apologized to her husband, confessing she isn’t “ready” to have kids. She revealed that every new call involving kids has brought her fear and dread after they started to think about a family. Kelly didn’t push the issue.
Elsewhere during the season 13 premiere, Kelly learned that his relationship with Stella would be under a microscope moving forward thanks to the new chief Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney). During a meeting, Pascal told Kelly that it’s against the rules to work with a family member, but since he and Stella appeared to have it handled he would let it slide.
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During season 13, episode 15, which aired in March 2025, Stella and Kelly met with an adoption agency. Following a mishap at the firehouse — Hermann and Cruz thought they might’ve spoiled the couple’s chances at adopting during a Zoom malfunction — Stella and Kelly were approved to be parents.