Taylor Kinney, 42, is an actor and model who has gained fame for roles in film and television across the board. The Lancaster, Pennsylvania native has appeared in notable roles in Zero Dark Thirty, The Vampire Diaries, and The Other Woman. To date, he’s best known as Lieutenant Kelly Severide in Chicago Fire, and the season 12 premiere drops on January 17, 2024, on NBC.
Dramatic fireman roles aside, Taylor’s enjoyed a fiery romance or two in his personal life. He’s currently dating model Ashley Cruger, and in the past, he was involved in a high-profile romance with pop megastar Lady Gaga.
Ashley Cruger
Ashley and Taylor began dating in 2022, with Taylor making it official with a cute Instagram post in March of 2022. “Why would you tell me that…..” the actor captioned a pic of an expressive Ashley getting her nails done. A month later, they were also a public couple, stepping out in Utah for Operation Smile’s 10th Annual Celebrity Ski and Smile Challenge benefit. According to Extra, they packed on the PDA at the event, openly kissing on the red carpet. And in July of 2022, they doubled down with a glam, high-profile appearance at the Monte Carlo TV festival opening ceremony in Monaco.
Per her LinkedIn account, Taylor is a graduate of the University of Iowa in journalism. The brunette beauty is also a professional model, and signed with BMG Models. Taylor has even dabbled in acting — she appeared as an extra in a season 11 episode of Chicago Fire with her leading man.
Lady Gaga
Before sparking a romance with Ashley, Taylor embarked on a much talked about romance with Lady Gaga. The former couple began dating in July of 2011, after meeting on the set of her music video for “You and I.” In a 2013 interview with Ellen DeGeneres, the “Poker Face” icon recalled their first meeting. “The first time he met me it was on the set of the ‘You and I’ video… (I was looking) ridiculously crazy… I’ve got these pins sticking out of my head and I’m wearing cork and I got no hair and I’m bald,” she said.
“And I mean, why he found me attractive just completely behooves [sic] me. And we were in the middle of this scene and I remember that he kissed me and it wasn’t scripted for him to kiss me and I was sort of like, ‘Um, you know, was that real or was that fake?’ And he didn’t really say anything and that was fine by me and we kept filming. And you know, at the end of the day he’s my best friend, and having your lover be your best friend. I mean, it’s the best thing ever. It’s the best thing I can say about it.”
During the interview she also shared details on their attraction to one another. “We’re boys,” she divulged. “I wear his flannels, we eat pizza, we watch TV and then I play him my next single and ask him if he likes it. And that’s our normal life.”
On February 16, 2015, Lady Gaga took to Instagram to announce her engagement to Taylor, alongside a stunning pic of a massive heart shaped diamond ring. “He gave me his heart on Valentine’s Day, and I said YES!” she captioned the pic.
But by July of 2016, the relationship had run its course, and they went their separate ways. Later that month, the songstress took to Instagram to break her silence, alongside a black and white photo of the couple walking arm in arm. “Taylor and I have always believed we are soulmates,” she captioned the July 19, 2016 post. “Just like all couples we have ups and downs, and we have been taking a break. We are both ambitious artists, hoping to work through long-distance and complicated schedules to continue the simple love we have always shared. Please root us on. We’re just like everybody else and we really love each other.”
Lady Gaga went on to an engagement with Christian Carino, which ended in 2019, and she is currently dating Michael Polansky.