What Happened To Paige Swanson On Young Sheldon? Fans Have Some Wild Theories

"Young Sheldon" viewers can name the titular character's friends on one hand. Aside from adults like Dr. Sturgis (Wallace Shawn) and Dr. Linkletter (Ed Begley Jr.), there's Tam Nguyen (Ryan Phuong), whom "Young Sheldon" fans are wondering what happened to since he mysteriously disappears when Sheldon (Iain Armitage) starts at East Texas Tech, and fellow child prodigy Paige Swanson (Mckenna Grace). 

Paige first shows up in Season 2 and soon befriends Sheldon as they bond over their unconventional childhoods. Grace's character makes only nine appearances on "Young Sheldon," but they're spread out over five seasons and she changes a lot during that time. Although she is initially characterized as Sheldon's intellectual rival, things quickly go downhill for her when her parents divorce, causing her grades to suffer. She then struggles to fit in with her older peers as a 12-year-old college student, eventually dropping out and turning her attention to partying. 

Fans have been worried about Paige ever since watching her and Missy attempt to run away in Season 6. In the end, Paige's mom, Linda (Andrea Anders), takes her home, but that's the last viewers see or hear from her. "Young Sheldon" fans are hoping that's not the end for Paige, but it's not yet clear whether she'll return to wrap up her storyline in Season 7. At the moment, viewers are completely in the dark about her future since she isn't mentioned once on "The Big Bang Theory." This has led to fans sharing their theories about what might happen to Paige on a thread in the subreddit r/YoungSheldon. Let's take a look at the most popular theories, but be warned; they're pretty wild.

Although Paige is beginning to go down a dark path by drinking heavily and rebelling against academia, some viewers believe she will ultimately turn a corner and have a bright future. "I think she may have gotten back on the right track and ended up being more successful than Sheldon as a scientist, and Sheldon is in denial and/or afraid he'll be made fun of if someone who was once his peer is excelling more than him due to which he doesn't even mention her," u/Solidified_deodorant posited on Reddit.

Paige being more successful than Sheldon is certainly one viable theory for why he never mentions her in "TBBT." But if she really is more successful than her former friend, why does no one else ever mention her as surely his colleagues would have heard about her success? On the other hand, Paige getting her life back on track doesn't necessarily mean she pursued a career in the sciences. She may have put her talents to use elsewhere and is simply off thriving in another field, having lost touch with Sheldon when he went to Caltech.

Another theory about why Paige isn't in Sheldon's life as an adult is pretty dark — it simply suggests it's because she doesn't make it to adulthood. Paige's Season 6 return left "Young Sheldon" fans feeling uneasy since she was in a pretty low place. Though tragic, it doesn't seem like a stretch for Paige to eventually fall into a serious depression that she doesn't recover from. 

Redditor u/Harshit117 certainly believes this theory. "I think she commits suicide. I know it's dark, but it makes sense ... her name isn't mentioned once in TBBT so it could be that Sheldon suppresses that memory and all the other memories of Paige in the show and now as Adult Sheldon is narrating the story he is finally able to face the hard truth," they theorized. u/AdAffectionate4082 agreed: "This is a theory that makes sense considering the path she is headed down. The girl is a child prodigy, not an average teenager. And it's not looking like she can handle that very well."

Paige is a good friend to Sheldon and he also tries to be a good friend to her. Interacting with her character has helped bring out elements of his humanity and empathy. For instance, it's clear that Sheldon cares about Paige's well-being and doesn't like to see her struggling. As viewers know, Sheldon can repress and misremember things from his past, so if Paige does die by suicide, it'd make sense that Sheldon doesn't want to talk about it and relive that pain when he's older.

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Fans who thought the last theory was wild might get their socks knocked off by this one – what if Paige isn't real? Redditor u/AtomicHaiku suggested, "Paige is a figment of a writer for Young Sheldon's Imagination... A writer who wanted to diminish Young Sheldon in an attempt to make him only the second intellectually. Paige does not exist – never did." Did Sheldon create an intellectual rival for himself?

If we look at their relationship, Paige often pops up to offer Sheldon a new perspective on a problem or issue he's having. But she also becomes a supportive friend to Missy. Did both siblings imagine her? It's possible to reimagine the episode in which she and Missy run away to Louisiana with this theory in mind. Missy may have been looking for someone to egg her on and subconsciously uses her imaginary friend to do so. After all, Missy is the one driving her dad's truck, and she does the talking when the cop pulls them over. This theory requires some serious reexamining of Paige's role and appearances on the show but could explain why Sheldon never mentions her on "The Big Bang Theory" — he simply grew up and stopped imagining her.

All of these three theories are possible, but it's still unclear if and how "Young Sheldon" creators Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro are planning to wrap up Paige's storyline. So, for now, fans will have to wait to see if any of their theories hit the mark in Season 7.