Taylor Kinney Surprises Fans With Festive New Role — and an Unexpected Co-Star
Taylor Kinney is trading Firehouse 51 for holiday sparkle in a new project that instantly set the internet buzzing. The Chicago Fire star
stunned fans after posting what looked like a classic Christmas-movie poster on Instagram — his first feed update in almost two years.
In the image, Kinney (credited as Aiden Winter) poses beside a mystery woman in a snowy, gift-laden scene straight out of a Hallmark romance. But fans quickly learned this wasn’t a movie at all.
Fans briefly believed Kinney had joined a full holiday film, titled The Gift Exchange, before realizing it was a seasonal ad series. Even so, the reaction was huge, with many simply thrilled to see the actor active on social media again.

Off-screen, Kinney is happily married to model Ashley Cruger, who’s often seen bonding with the women of the One Chicago cast. On-screen, he continues his long-running role as Kelly Severide opposite Miranda Rae Mayo’s Stella Kidd — a partnership he recently described as “pretty tight knit… like a surrogate family.”

Taylor Kinney is trading Firehouse 51 for holiday sparkle in a new project that instantly set the internet buzzing. The Chicago Fire star stunned fans after posting what looked like a classic Christmas-movie poster on Instagram — his first feed update in almost two years.

In the image, Kinney (credited as Aiden Winter) poses beside a mystery woman in a snowy, gift-laden scene straight out of a Hallmark romance. But fans quickly learned this wasn’t a movie at all.
Fans briefly believed Kinney had joined a full holiday film, titled The Gift Exchange, before realizing it was a seasonal ad series. Even so, the reaction was huge, with many simply thrilled to see the actor active on social media again.
Off-screen, Kinney is happily married to model Ashley Cruger, who’s often seen bonding with the women of the One Chicago cast. On-screen, he continues his long-running role as Kelly Severide opposite Miranda Rae Mayo’s Stella Kidd — a partnership he recently described as “pretty tight knit… like a surrogate family.”