Shameless Theory: Fiona Left To Find Jimmy/Steve

"Shameless" is more of a family drama than anything else, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for a little romance. One of the first pairings introduced in Season 1 is Fiona Gallagher (Emmy Rossum) and a smooth-talking businessman named Steve Wilson (Justin Chatwin). Fiona could use some affection after taking care of her siblings all day and Steve doesn't balk at the chaos in her life, so it's easy to root for them as a couple. However, the narrative quickly pulls the rug out from under viewers when it's revealed that Steve's real name is Jimmy Lishman. He's a criminal who leaves a trail of lies in his wake, making it hard to tell whether his feelings for Fiona are ever genuine. 

What happened to Fiona after she left Chicago is anyone's guess and it's one of the show's biggest unanswered questions. Fiona dates other people over the course of the series, but Jimmy/Steve definitely made an impact on viewers. In fact, some fans theorize that Fiona left Chicago to find him.

"Worst case: she either got back with Jimmy/Steve, or started hooking up with Robbie again. She tried to get back into real estate but failed because she could not manage challenges. she started drinking again and started hooking up with horrible men. She didn't come [home] because she felt too ashamed," Reddit user u/Lucky-Ad-2118.

It might seem like a step in the wrong direction for Fiona, but other fans were quick to agree with the theory.

Fiona's character regresses quite a bit by the time she leaves at the end of Season 9. Every "Shameless" character has flaws, but it's easy to watch Fiona ultimately make the decision to leave Chicago. After everything she's done for her family and everything she's put her loved ones through, you're happy to watch her go. Fiona was never perfect, but there's a clear line between what she does to help her family get by and Jimmy/Steve's blatantly illegal and immoral behavior. Fiona becomes more selfish as the narrative moves forward, and her actions quickly come back to haunt her. She has no problem lying, cheating, and stealing, in a manner that's reminiscent of good ole' Jimmy/Steve.

"She went to find Jimmy Steve. My prediction," wrote Reddit user u/octoberskies25 in a thread discussing Fiona's life after Chicago. Other fans agreed. "She ends up the Jimmy," wrote Reddit user u/bitten-and-bled. And Reddit user u/Huff1809 added, "Yup met up with Jimmy Steve." Meanwhile, some viewers think that Fiona may have left the continental U.S. to be with her old flame. "I think she went to Costa Rica because Jimmy-Steve put it in her head years ago," wrote u/Proditude.

We'll never know where Fiona went after she left home, so a rendezvous with Jimmy/Steve is as good of a guess as any. Only one thing's for sure — no one can agree on what to call him.