Why did Emmy Rossum's Fiona leave Shameless? Details explored 

In Showtime's comedy drama Shameless, Emmy Rossum played the role of Fiona Gallagher. The eldest daughter of the dysfunctional Gallagher family, Fiona, took care of her siblings like a mother. After their mother, Monica, left the family because of Frank's irresponsible attitude, it was Fiona who helped the family stick together.

Fiona juggled between various odd jobs, took care of the Gallaghers' siblings and their stupid tantrums, and tried her best to give them a better life. She never truly hated her parents despite their careless and irresponsible attitude. However, she vowed never to be like them. She decided not to follow the same path as her parents. Like the Gallagher's she was flawed too, but what made her different from others is her resilience, care, and loyalty for her broken family.

The audience connected to Fiona's struggle - a constant juggle between her dreams and her family. From sharing laughs and struggles with her best friend Veronica to taking bold steps in real estate in hopes of breaking the cycle of poverty, Fiona tried to build a better life.

However after Shameless Season 9, Emmy Rossum's Fiona was written out of the Showtime series. She left the show because of scheduling conflicts and to explore better career opportunities. Interestingly, two years before her exit, Emmy Rossum revised her compensation and demanded to be paid more than her co-star William H.Macy.

Here's what we know about Emmy Rossum's exit from Shameless.

Why did Emmy Rossum leave Shameless after Season 9?

Emmy Rossum left Shameless after Season 9 to explore future career opportunities. She took on the role of an executive producer and actor for Peacock's miniseries, Angelyne, which might have caused scheduling conflicts.

Before Shameless Season 8's production began, Emmy Rossum requested equal pay to her co-star William H. Macy. Variety reported in 2016 that Emmy wasn't satisfied with her compensation and stated was underpaid for her craft. Eventually, she was offered equal pay to William H. Macy. However, she revised her demands and wanted higher pay than Macy to compensate for the years of unjust compensation.

She returned to play Fiona for two seasons (Season 8 and 9) after the negotiation dispute. The showrunners were not prepared to write out her character. In 2018, Emmy Rossum left Shameless after nine seasons. She announced her exit via Facebook post. In a long post, she thanked the show runners, cast, and crew of Shameless for the opportunity and experience. She concluded the post, stating,

"I know you will continue without me, for now. There is much more Gallagher story to be told. I will always be rooting for my family. Try not to think of me as gone, just think of me as moving down the block."

What happened to Fiona Gallagher in Showtime's Shameless?

Fiona's role was written out of Shameless in a hurry as the creatives did not plan this fan favourite character to leave. She last appeared in Shameless Season 9 finale episode titled Found.

In Shameless Season 8, things looked quite hopeful for Fiona- with the Gallagher siblings grown up, she finally decided to focus on her career as a real estate agent. She got into a relationship and secured a job at Patsy's Pies.

However, Fiona's dreams were shattered when her real estate deal failed, and she found out that her boyfriend was married and had children. After all this, she started drinking heavily, skipped out on paying her bills, and eventually she lost her job at Patsy Pies.

Fiona took the help of her brother Lip to get sober. She slowly started to rebuild her life. She got a job in a convenience store. Her life changed at the moment when her business partner informed her that the real estate investor who pulled out of the deal earlier had bought the entire property and agreed to give Fiona $100,000.

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With Fiona's dreams finally coming true, she decided to move out of the Gallagher family's house. She bid her family a heartfelt goodbye and left half of the fortune for her siblings.

Also read: Why did Cameron Monaghan leave Shameless? Ian's exit and what brought him back, explained

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