9-1-1’s found family isn’t the same as a love story. That said, Buck’s character offers enough to the plot alone to not require a permanent romantic partner.

Additionally, there are many couples in 9-1-1 who fulfill the romance angle. Buck’s own sister, Maddie Han (Jennifer Love Hewitt), has one of the sweetest relationships in the show alongside Howard “Chimney” Han (Kenneth Choi). Other core relationships turned out to be doomed, like Angela Bassett’s Athena Grant, who had to bury her husband (Peter Krause’s Bobby Nash) in 9-1-1 season 8. Nevertheless, while it may be safer for some characters to stay single, Buck deserves a successful love story, and reviewing his past could reveal what he needs in the future.

6 Natalia Dollenmeyer

Season 6

By far the worst of Buck’s exes was Natalia (Annelise Cepero), a character who only appears three times in 9-1-1 season 6. Following Buck’s worst near-death experiences in 9-1-1, he had a complicated perspective on life and death— understandable, considering Buck was legally dead for over three minutes after being struck by lightning in 9-1-1 season 6, episode 10. A mere five episodes later, in “Death and Taxes,” Natalia is introduced as the answer to Buck’s existential crisis. Natalia, a death doula, took a vested interest in Buck’s trauma, which the firefighter felt drawn to during his time of need.

Unfortunately, that was the full extent of their connection. As he later explained at the beginning of 9-1-1 season 7, Natalia wasn’t interested in Buck beyond his relationship with death. Though the closing of season 6 implied Natalia would be around long-term, she was quickly written out and her character, though slim to begin with, was denigrated to nothing more than a macabre woman who treated Buck as a sideshow attraction. If they had met under different circumstances, it’s possible that their relationship wouldn’t have been dead on arrival. Unfortunately, that will always be a mere hypothetical.

5 Abby Clark

Season 1

Long before Buck was one of the procedural’s most important characters, Connie Britton led 9-1-1 season 1 as Abby Clark, the original voice of LA dispatch. After interacting via phone calls and eventually meeting in-person during an emergency, Abby and Buck strike up a relationship. Throughout 9-1-1’s pilot season, the couple hit many roadblocks and stalemates, but none were as detrimental as the death of Abby’s mother, which served as a catalyst for Abby’s exit from 9-1-1 entirely. Abby leaves LA permanently in the first series finale and, though Buck waits for her, she never looks back.

What makes Buck and Abby’s relationship so unique is that the majority of it is seen through Abby’s perspective. Rather than Buck chatting with the 118 about his paramours, the character was made out to be nothing more than a young, warm body that made Abby feel better about her life. The significant age and experience gap in their relationship makes it even harder to forgive how Abby strung Buck along without giving him closure. The pair share one last conversation in 9-1-1 season 3, but Buck was never a fully-fledged person to Abby, and it shows.

4 Lucy Donato

Season 5

Arielle Kebbel’s Lucy Donato was an intriguing addition to the LAFD in 9-1-1 season 5, but she and Buck’s romantic encounters were brief. The two met on a t call and worked together on a thrilling rescue, with Lucy catching Buck’s eye due to their shared fearlessness and somewhat reckless decision-making. When they go out for celebratory drinks, Buck and Lucy share a kiss— the catch, of course, being that he is already in a committed relationship with Taylor Kelly (Megan West). Yet, the conflict is quickly resolved and Lucy is promptly written out of 9-1-1.

...if Taylor was never in the picture, there’s a chance that Lucy and Buck would have thrived together for a short yet exciting fling.

Buck’s cheating in 9-1-1 season 5 was wildly out of character, and it prevented him and Lucy from ever having a true chance at a relationship. However, if Taylor was never in the picture, there’s a chance that Lucy and Buck would have thrived together for a short yet exciting fling. The two characters proved themselves to be adventurous risk-takers, which may not be the foundation for a long-term relationship, but it could at least amp up their physical chemistry. Lucy and Buck were too similar to ever be serious, but they still deserved more than a drunken mistake.

3 Tommy Kinard

Seasons 7-8

Lou Ferrigno Jr. first appeared as Tommy Kinard in 9-1-1 season 2 (“Hen Begins”) as an old member of LAFD station 118. Similar to captain Vincent Gerrard (Brian Thompson), Tommy ostracized Henrietta “Hen” Wilson (Aisha Hinds) when she ed the department. Later, in “Chimney Begins,” it’s revealed that Tommy was also rude and dismissive of Chimney during his first days with the 118 under Gerrard’s reign. Yet, when Tommy is reintroduced at the beginning of 9-1-1 season 7, it seems all was forgiven (off-screen, at least).

Truthfully, there wasn’t much substance to Buck and Tommy’s relationship aside from introducing Buck’s bisexuality in 9-1-1. There seemed to be a disconnect during emotional moments — Tommy insisted on calling him “Evan” rather than Buck, and the pair simply lacked a believable emotional connection. Arguably, the biggest issue was 9-1-1 not allowing Buck to explore his sexuality and saddling him with the first man he kissed, but that wasn’t Tommy’s fault. Still, the relationship felt rushed yet underdeveloped, and they slowly fizzled out until their inevitable breakup in 9-1-1 season 8.

2 Ali Martin

Season 2

Many may have forgotten about Ali Martin (Tiffany Dupont), but she was one of the healthiest relationships Buck ever had in 9-1-1. Following a massive earthquake, Buck and Eddie Diaz (Ryan Guzman) work together to rescue civilians trapped in the structural collapse, including Ali. Although the two don’t spend much time flirting while navigating the aftershocks, Ali and Buck reconnect later in the season and start a relationship. Sadly, after Buck suffers a 9-1-1 season 2’s finale, Ali makes the difficult decision to end their relationship due to Buck’s line of work.

The two weren’t together long enough for Ali to break Buck’s heart, but she certainly would have balanced him out nicely, especially considering how impulsive Buck was in the early seasons of 9-1-1.

Ali’s reasons for ending the relationship were controversial, but I don’t fault her for recognizing she lacked the bravery to accept a loved one leaving for work every day and potentially never coming home. Plus, both she and Maddie implicitly believed Buck would pursue another career following his injury, and it wasn’t until Buck revealed he wasn’t quitting that Ali realized the severity of the situation. The two weren’t together long enough for Ali to break Buck’s heart, but she certainly would have balanced him out nicely, especially considering how impulsive Buck was in the early seasons of 9-1-1.

1 Taylor Kelly

Seasons 2-5

Though she was a divisive character in her own right, Taylor Kelly was Buck’s best love interest by leaps and bounds. The history the two characters share alone is proof that, under the right circumstances, Buck and Taylor could have been end-game. The pair have seen each other at their very worst, from Buck’s snafu with Lucy to Taylor taking advantage of their relationship to get ahead at work. Taylor was a complicated, oftentimes morally grey character, but she saw the ugly side of Buck and still embraced him.

In the end, their values simply didn’t align, and Taylor decided getting a good scoop by any means necessary was worth more to her than keeping Buck’s trust. The couple shared many heartwarming moments in 9-1-1, but their disconnect ran deep enough to doom any future attempts at romance. Luckily, Taylor and Buck’s humble beginnings as friends with benefits prove they’re better off as a platonic pairing, anyway. If 9-1-1 eventually does introduce a permanent love interest for Buck, I only hope the ABC drama proves the six previous attempts were learning opportunities.

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