Before Kelly Severide and Stella Kidd became Chicago Fire’s power couple, there was another pairing quietly tested in the writers’ room: Stella and Joe Cruz.
During Season 5, producers flirted with the idea of building romantic tension between Cruz and Kidd. Both were rising stars in Truck 81, and early drafts even had Cruz confessing feelings to her after a rescue gone wrong.
But after early feedback from cast and crew, the idea was dropped. Some worried it would “muddy” Cruz’s growth storyline, while others felt the chemistry wasn’t strong enough to sustain a believable arc.
However, traces of the abandoned romance remain. Watch closely in Season 5—Cruz’s protective streak around Stella, his hesitation when Severide returns, even a few lingering glances. Fans who rewatch with this knowledge can see the ghost of a love story that almost was.a
