Fiona Gallagher Ends Up Married to Steve/Jimmy

As any Shameless fan knows, Fiona Gallagher goes through many ups and downs in her tumultuous love life throughout the show‘s nine seasons. But in the end, it‘s revealed that fan-favorite couple Fiona and Steve/Jimmy do finally get their happy ending – they wind up married.

Examining Fiona‘s Major Relationships and Breakups

Before analyzing why Fiona may have chosen chaotic Steve/Jimmy despite swearing him off, let‘s recap her other major relationships and what led to each downfall:

Mike Pratt – The "Normal" Guy

After countless damaging relationships, Fiona tried going the traditional route with Mike Pratt, a seemingly upstanding corporate manager introduced in Season 4. Mike represented stability and "the white picket fence and 2.5 kids" that Fiona felt she should probably aspire to. "You check off all the boxes," Fiona once told him. Their romance quickly got serious enough for Fiona to accept Mike‘s marriage proposal.

However, it soon became clear that Mike‘s mundane 9-5 lifestyle wasn‘t giving Fiona the fiery passion she secretly craved. "I want interesting and different and off-kilter," Fiona admitted after cheating on Mike with her ex Robbie at a wedding (Source). They called off the engagement soon after.

Gus Pfender – The Reckless Rebound

After splitting from Mike, Fiona rebounded hard with quirky struggling musician Gus Pfender. They had only dated a week when Fiona made yet another rash decision: agreeing to become Mrs. Fiona Pfender. Even Gus was shocked when she said yes:

"Wait, seriously? We barely know each other," Gus reacted when Fiona accepted his impromptu proposal over breakfast one morning (Source).

This impulsiveness was likely Fiona‘s way of compensating for her stable-yet-boring relationship with Mike. The excitement soon faded though, and Fiona struggled to play committed housewife to Gus. Citing the relationship as a "mistake" she leapt into too fast, Fiona‘s inner turmoil led her to cheat on Gus as well. They finalized their divorce after only 6 months of marriage.

Sean Pierce – Another Broken "Bad Boy"

Fiona just couldn‘t quit falling for damaged men, as evidenced by her Season 7 romance with recovering heroin addict Sean Pierce. Though clean when they met, Sean‘s struggle with addiction ultimately overwhelmed him when his child died, destroying his short-lived sobriety along with his relationship to Fiona.

"I got my heart broken because I‘m an idiot who picks men who lie and keep secrets," Fiona later lamented of her pattern of choosing troubled partners (Source).

The One Who Got Away: Steve/Jimmy

Which brings us to Jimmy Lishman – the mysterious, car-stealing Southside charmer who went by many aliases: Steve, Jimmy, "J." No matter what name he used, this man completely enthralled Fiona from day one.

Of all Fiona‘s lovers, Steve/Jimmy was undoubtedly the most dysfunctional and morally questionable. As viewers eventually discovered, "Steve" was actually Jimmy – born into a wealthy Northside family under a false identity. Once his web of lies unraveled, he fled the country to escape his crimes.

Despite the clear red flags, Fiona missed him terribly after his disappearance. "There‘s always gonna be a little part of me that loves Jimmy," she once told her sister Debbie (Source).

Fiona gave "normal Joes" like Mike and Sean a fair shot in later seasons. But ultimately, none could measure up to Jimmy‘s fiery, fervent passion.

So although messy and complicated, this angsty relationship gave Fiona the true, enduring love she‘d never fully gotten over. Their intrinsic bond endured all chaos that came at them.

The Ending We All Saw Coming

So when a bombshell Season 8 conversation revealed that Fiona had married her one true love Steve/Jimmy after all, Shameless devotees likely nodded knowingly.

By the finale‘s end, chaotic-but-alluring Steve somehow proved himself as dedicated husband-material after all. Through everything, Fiona must have discovered that a safe, steady guy could never light her fire like Jimmy.

In the words of Gallavich fans Kev and Vee:

"Fiona and that Steve guy got married? Called it!" they cheered when hearing secondhand of Jimmy‘s return.

Indeed, we Shameless fans called Fiona‘s inevitable Steve/Jimmy ending long ago! Their intensely dysfunctional but undying connection offered the comfort of familiar chaos that Fiona subconsciously longed for.

In real life, Emma Greenwell, the second actress playing Jimmy-lover Mandy Milkovich, shared her take on Fiona‘s happy ending:

“I feel shedding all those responsibilities allowed Fiona to pursue her own passions and wind up with someone unexpected — like Jimmy/Steve!” she mused.

So despite swearing him off forever, Fiona does come full circle in the end! Let the Gallavich wedding episodes begin…

The fiery Gallagher girl simply couldn‘t quit her one and only Jimmy. And something tells me their married life will be anything but dull!