When Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) first started flirting back in Season 1, it felt like your standard workplace attraction. But over time, Burzek evolved into something far deeper—flawed, raw, and painfully real.
Their on-again, off-again relationship has been a rollercoaster. Engagements, breakups, near-deaths, pregnancies, and co-parenting a child they tragically lost—all have defined their journey. Unlike many television couples that either burn bright and fast or become background noise, Burzek’s dynamic has remained front and center because it reflects something authentic. Their love is complicated. It’s bruised by trauma, stress, and the brutality of their work, yet it keeps resurfacing.
What truly sets Burzek apart is their unwavering loyalty to one another. Even when they aren’t together romantically, Ruzek and Burgess are each other’s first calls in a crisis. Fans don’t just root for them because they’re cute together—they root for them because their love has weathered every storm and keeps rising from the ashes. They represent hope in a show that often thrives on despair.
You wouldn’t expect heart-melting romance to thrive in a show where characters constantly deal with death, betrayal, and the harsh realities of the justice system. But that’s exactly why it works. Love on Chicago P.D. isn’t frivolous—it’s survival. In a world where the lines between right and wrong are often blurred, romantic relationships offer the characters something pure to hold on to. For Burgess and Ruzek, their bond gives them stability amidst chaos. For Upton and Halstead, love becomes a guiding light through moral compromise. In both cases, romance provides emotional depth that makes every professional decision more complicated—and more compelling.
Part of the reason Burzek and Upstead have resonated so deeply with fans is the undeniable chemistry between the actors. Marina Squerciati and Patrick John Flueger play off each other with ease, creating a natural rhythm that makes even the smallest of scenes—like a look across a crime scene or a moment in the locker room—feel charged with meaning. Similarly, Tracy Spiridakos and Jesse Lee Soffer crafted a relationship that felt rooted in authenticity. Their characters’ scenes rarely needed grand romantic gestures because the emotion was always present in the subtext—the stolen glances, the shared silences, and the unspoken understanding of two people who’ve seen too much.
Kim’s shooting and kidnapping changed the dynamic with Ruzek in profound ways. Jay’s principled nature eventually clashed with the Intelligence Unit’s increasingly murky methods, forcing him and Upton to face uncomfortable truths. These aren’t surface-level romances—they’re love stories where growth is painful, choices have consequences, and sometimes, love means letting go. Fans don’t watch Burzek or Upstead because they’re perfect. They watch because they’re human. Messy, conflicted, resilient—and constantly evolving.
As for Upstead, fans haven’t given up hope. Jay Halstead may be gone, but Upton still wears her wedding ring. Her emotional arc continues to be shaped by his absence, and fans are holding out hope for a reunion—however far down the line that may be. Even if Halstead doesn’t return, or if Burzek never tie the knot, one thing is certain: the legacy of love on Chicago P.D. is secure. These couples have added a richness to the show that transcends crime plots and cliffhangers. They’ve shown that even in the darkest corners of Chicago, love can bloom—and endure.
It’s not about fairy tales. It’s about connection in chaos, healing through partnership, and finding someone who sees the worst in you—and chooses you anyway. And that’s why we keep watching. Not just for the arrests or the explosions, but for the moments in between—the whispered confessions, the hospital bedside promises, and the quiet belief that, even for cops hardened by the world, love is still worth fighting for.
