Kelly Severide & Stella Kidd’s Love Story in Chicago Fire: A Journey of Passion, Breakups, and Unbreakable Bonds

After Kelly’s dad, Benny (Treat Williams), dies during season 7, episode 7, the firefighter begins to unravel. Throughout the “What Will Define You” episode, Kelly cuts himself off from Stella and the rest of his loved ones while trying to deal with his dad being gone

As Kelly is mourning his dad’s death, Stella’s childhood friend Tyler (Tye White) comes to town and causes an even bigger rift between the couple. During one scene, Tyler confesses his love for Stella, who is surprised by the revelation and even more mad that Kelly was right.

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.”

The pair continue to work together throughout season 7, but it’s clear that their relationship needs work before they can reunite romantically. In season 7, episode 22, “I’m Not Leaving You,” Stella goes to check on Kelly at his dad’s cabin and is surprised to find a changed man.

“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.

After a season of bliss for the firefighters — who started living together in season 8 alongside Matt Casey — they hit a little bump in the road toward the beginning of season 9. After Kelly learns that some men in the CFD think Stella’s rise in the ranks is because of their relationship, he distances himself from her so she can focus.

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.”

In typical Stellaride fashion, the couple gets engaged while standing in a burning building. After Stella comes back to save Kelly during a house fire in season 9’s “A White-Knuckle Panic,” Kelly drops down on one knee and proposes.

“I don’t want you to ever leave me. Stella Kidd, will you marry me?” he asks. Stella says, “Hell yeah.”

Stella is noticeably absent throughout much of season 10 as she is traveling to different states to try and get her Girls on Fire program up and running in other firehouses. During the “Winterfest” episode it becomes clear that Kelly hasn’t heard much from his fiancée, which makes him start to wonder what’s going on with them as a couple.

Tensions are high when Stella finally returns to Chicago in season 10, episode 10. After admitting that she messed up by going radio silent on Kelly while she was out of town, she reveals she was anxious about the next phase of her career and panicked. When asked if she was having any second thoughts about being with Kelly, however, Stella assured him she was still all in. “I love you with everything I got. That is never gonna change,” she tells him while sitting in their apartment.

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.”

Better than ever! During season 10, episode 12’s “Show of Force,” Kelly and Stella cemented their relationship status after teaming up to keep Lieutenant Jason Pelham (Brett Dalton) at Firehouse 51. Although it means that Stella will have to continue to ride on Truck 81 as a member of the team and not the leader, she makes Kelly proud when she fights for what’s right with Jason.

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.

Ahead of their nuptials, Kelly and Stella seemed at odds during season 10, episode 21’s “Last Chance” episode, which aired in May 2022. The couple got into a tiff after Kelly claimed that Stella gets everything she wants — and he frequently gives into her demands.

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.”

The twosome faced an uphill battle on their wedding day after Kelly was attacked at knifepoint by a drug dealer’s crony. The incident shook Kelly but didn’t stop him from making it to the venue with Stella right behind him. The pair were thrown another curveball when the venue said they were double booked, resulting in the ceremony being moved to a boat nearby.

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.”

During the season 10 finale, titled “The Magnificent City of Chicago,” the duo officially became husband and wife. However, a happily ever after may not be in their future. The May 2022 episode’s cliffhanger revealed that someone — most likely a hitman for the drug gang that Kelly is working to help take down — in a big truck pulled up to Kelly and Stella’s cabin in the woods as they kicked off their honeymoon. The final scene showed the newlyweds kissing as they got into the house, leaving it unlocked to the danger lurking just outside.

Season 11 kicked off in September 2022 with Kelly and Stella on their honeymoon in the woods. While the two are getting steamy on the floor of their cabin during the “Hold on Tight” episode, they hear a noise outside that causes them both to pause. Kelly jumps up to see two men with guns outside and tells Stella to get dressed and jump out the back.

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.

Season 11’s midseason finale, which aired in December 2022, left Stella again in danger. She and Carver (Jake Lockett) rushed into a burning building to save an injured police officer, who wound up with part of a grenade in his leg. After safely extracting the item, there is an explosion that appeared to take Stella down with it.

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.

The couple appeared to be going strong until season 11, episode 12, which aired in January 2023. During the episode, Kelly goes against Stella’s advice on a call involving a possible bomb surrounding a bunker door.

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.