While Shameless follows the Gallagher family in all their schemes and misdeeds, the show also puts a serious emphasis on the love lives of Frank’s children, especially Fiona’s — here are all of Fiona’s lovers on Shameless, ranked. She has a knack for making reckless and impulsive decisions, which extends to her romantic partners. In the world of Shameless, Fiona’s boyfriends are bound to be just as reckless as she is. Over the years, all of Fiona’s boyfriends add up to quite the motley of personalities. From Steve in season 1 to Ford in season 9, all of Fiona Gallagher’s love interests from Shameless seem to share a few qualities.
More often than not, it’s the same drive that the Gallaghers possess when it comes to making a space for themselves in their cut-throat surroundings. However, out of all of Fiona’s lovers on Shameless, there have been a few misnomers. Viewers have long been divided over which character is the best of Fiona Gallagher’s lovers. Some are good people with whom Fiona wouldn’t mind settling down, while others are never intended to be more than a one-time fling. Fiona’s love interests in Shameless are usually spontaneous people like her, but sometimes they catch her attention for other reasons and they each deserve to be analyzed on their strengths and weaknesses.
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12 Jasmine
Though the interest was one-sided, Jasmine ranks lowest out of all of Fiona’s lovers on Shameless. Jasmine (one of Shameless‘ best guest stars Amy Smart) was introduced as a PTA mom for Debbie’s class in season 1, and the two strike up an easy friendship thanks to their mutual distaste for the other “less fun” moms of the group. It’s quickly realized that Fiona is much more free-spirited and affectionate than Fiona is, often inviting her to various parties and trying to set her up with eligible bachelors. She also often kisses Fiona on the lips, hinting early on that Jasmine may want something more than friendship.
Jasmine’s behavior becomes more worrisome as Shameless season 2 carries on. She has multiple affairs against her husband Hal and is partying harder than ever. Things come to a head when Jasmine is kicked out of her house by Hal and throws a boat party, inviting Fiona and her ex Steve. There, Jasmine admits her feelings for her by kissing her, but it’s clear Fiona doesn’t reciprocate. Their friendship is later ended when Fiona refuses to let her live at her house. Jasmine clearly has some issues she needs to work out, her closeted sexuality being one of them, making her one of the worst of Fiona’s lovers on Shameless.
11 Richard
Richard only appears in two episodes of the series, but he turns out to be one of the worst of all Fiona’s lovers on Shameless. Richard is a lot wealthier than most of Fiona’s boyfriends, and was introduced to her by Jasmine in Shameless season 2. Richard is a sugar daddy, and Fiona remains wholly convinced that he isn’t married and tells him that she doesn’t date married guys. Nonetheless, she is charmed by him, despite appearing wholly uninterested at first, and the two go out for a short time.
Fiona finds herself ashamed of her socioeconomic status, and lies to Richard that her house is Adam’s when she accompanies him to a fancy wedding. The entire episode has Pretty Woman undertones, as it’s made abundantly clear that the rich man is fetishizing the girl who comes from nothing. Richard’s friend ends up making a play for her, and he’s surprisingly understanding toward her and the two have a nice moment on the limo ride home. However, it’s pretty clear that Fiona feels very uncomfortable in his sphere. He’s also married, so there was never a chance that she and Richard would work.
10 Robbie
Everything about Fiona’s relationship with Mike is toxic, and it’s an affair that Fiona keeps a secret because it happens with her boyfriend’s brother. Not only does she dislike him, but she’s almost afraid of him. She’s nervous around him for a reason, and she knows that their meetups are wrong. She feels bad for cheating on Mike, and even worse because her relationship with Robbie is purely physical. Out of all of Fiona’s lovers on Shameless, Robbie turns out to be one of the most destructive and detrimental to Fiona’s life.
For his part, Robbie knows exactly what he’s doing with Fiona. He knows that she’s seeing Mike and that he’s ruining both her relationship and her career. Essentially, Robbie destroys everything she has going for her at that point in her life. He’s one of the worst of all of Fiona’s lovers on Shameless for this reason, and technically one of the main antagonists for season 4. He mooches off of Mike and his parents, claiming that he could never subscribe to the “boring” life of having a desk job. He eventually reveals the affair to Mike, earning a well-deserved punch in the face.
9 Craig
In the end, Craig is revealed to be almost predatory and one of the worst out of all of Fiona’s lovers on Shameless. The sophomore season of the hit series saw Fiona entangled with not one, but two married men. He uses Fiona’s high school crush on him to hook up with her, which is worrying on many levels. First of all, he cheats on his wife for a few moments with Fiona, but the way he uses her is also concerning. The episode in which his character is introduced sees Fiona making several poor decisions, and hooking up with him when she expressly told V she isn’t into married men is one of them.
Craig doesn’t add any value to Fiona’s life. If anything, he holds her back and encourages her to keep distracting herself from her real issues. One of the most unpopular opinions about Fiona is that she’s too focused on men, but this is a theory that is supported by her fling with Craig. He’s also not a very considerate person, and compared to all of Fiona’s lovers on Shameless, he’s not her best choice.
8 Tony
Tony is one of the few characters from the South Side who displays a solid set of morals, and wouldn’t have been the worst choice out of all of Fiona’s lovers on Shameless — had it not been for later revelations. Outside of his police duties, he’s a kind, well-mannered, and traditional sort of person who tries to treat Fiona the best way he knows how. It’s clear that he falls hard for her after their one-night stand, but unfortunately, his romantic interest isn’t wholly reciprocated.
Despite his sweet demeanor and how much he endears himself to audiences, Tony’s desires never align with Fiona’s. Fiona is just looking for a casual relationship with him, while he wants to show her off to his mom and probably marry her down the line. Also, Tony later comes out as gay, so their relationship was never going to mean anything significant.
7 Gus
At first, Gus seems like a good person who really cares about Fiona. However, like almost all of Fiona’s lovers on Shameless, their relationship is doomed from the start, and marrying someone a week into dating them isn’t a smart decision. Not only do they move way too quickly and have one of Fiona’s craziest relationships on Shameless, but they don’t communicate very well and quickly become bitter toward each other. Had they taken the time to think about their relationship, things may have worked out.
Gus is very different from Fiona, but she appears to like that about him. He’s soft-spoken, calm, and introspective, which grounds her. Their relationship could have been a great change of pace for both of them. However, Gus reveals a more spiteful side of himself later on when he sings an insulting song about her onstage in Shameless season 6, which is all audiences need to know that he and Fiona aren’t good for each other. However, Gus does get his in the end when he is forced to watch Sean propose with his grandmother’s pawned engagement ring.
6 Ford
Few viewers would say that Ford was their favorite out of all of Fiona’s lovers on Shameless. He lies to her about his whole situation with his wife and lacks much of the intrigue Fiona’s other partners have. However, Ford supports her rental property endeavors and sticks by her through some rough times in Emmy Rossum’s last two seasons on Shameless. He becomes a series regular in season 9, but the revelation that he has a wife and child that he lied about is too much for their relationship to bear.
When compared to Fiona’s other boyfriends, Ford is pretty forgettable. However, what isn’t forgettable is how badly he hurts Fiona. Learning that he’s married–which is one of the biggest secrets on the show–is the last straw for Fiona, and she spirals hard. On one hand, he helps her grow and put herself first, but he’s also a total fraud. Debbie gets the better of Ford for hurting her sister when she and her friends hang him from a sign with his pants around his ankles and gets shot with a paintball gun.
5 Sean
For a while, Sean seems like the perfect match for Fiona out of all of Fiona’s lovers on Shameless. He has a troubled history, so he understands her upbringing more than anyone else Fiona has ever dated. His time with Fiona was interesting and helped make him one of the better characters to join the show late, appearing in Shameless seasons 5, 6, and 8. However, he’s still struggling with his addiction, which gets in the way of his happiness.
Between their shared understanding, life goals, and chemistry, these two seem like a great match. Unfortunately, Sean doesn’t tell Fiona when he relapses. When Frank tells her the truth, Fiona knows she can never trust Sean again. Before their fateful wedding day, Sean treats Fiona better than most of her other romantic partners. He tries to reconcile with her in season 8, revealing that he’s been clean for a year, but when Fiona finds out he’s gotten remarried to his ex-wife and it all comes crashing down.
4 Adam
When it comes to rebounds, Adam isn’t Fiona’s worst choice, and he’s one of the best in terms of all of Fiona’s lovers on Shameless. Introduced in season 2, Adam is attentive and open-minded, and he really seems to make Fiona happy for the short time they’re together, despite V believing that Adam is just a lamer version of Jimmy. They might’ve worked out in the long term had things not gotten complicated with Jimmy.
Adam seems like a good person, and his personality complements Fiona’s. The few scenes they share together are lighthearted, happy, and unproblematic. Unfortunately, things don’t last because Fiona isn’t really in love with him. When Jimmy finds a way back into her life, she goes right back to him. Fiona’s connection to Jimmy isn’t lost on Adam, and when the two decide to go out on a double date with Jimmy and his wife Estefania, Adam is aware of their attraction and breaks up with her.
3 Steve
Initially, Fiona doesn’t think that her relationship with Steve is going to be anything serious. However, he persists in making advances until Fiona accepts her feelings for him, and he turns out to be one of the best out of all of Fiona’s lovers on Shameless. Steve’s persistence is borderline obsessive and had Fiona not been interested in him, it would’ve been highly problematic. Over Fiona’s nine seasons on the show, Steve is the love interest who leaves the greatest impression. They’re both very invested in each other, and Steve proves his commitment time and again by voluntarily getting involved in the Gallaghers’ lives and living in their rundown house.
However, Steve’s downfall is his dishonesty. Turns out Steve’s real name is James “Jimmy” Lishman whose wife is a Brazilian drug dealer’s daughter. He makes an illegal living while his affluent family believes that he’s going to medical school in Shameless season 1. He unfortunately ruins Fiona’s relationship with Adam when he admits his feelings for her on their double-date and the two end up making out in the bathroom before she rebuffs him. It’s ultimately Jimmy’s lifestyle that gets in the way of a happily-ever-after for the couple, and frankly, Fiona deserves better despite everything he does for the Gallagher family.
2 Jimmy
Technically, Steve and Jimmy are the same person, but there’s a clear difference between his behavior after Fiona discovers the truth about him. When Jimmy reveals himself as the son of wealthy parents and med-school dropout, the Gallaghers wonder why he’s still hanging around the South Side. Technically, Jimmy is one of the best out of all of Fiona’s lovers on Shameless and the name change came with a change in his character as well.
His devotion to Fiona may be seen as admirable, especially when he’s teased for being something like a househusband. While Fiona is out managing her affairs, Jimmy takes care of Liam, maintains the house, and tries not to get killed by Estefania’s dad. All in all, Jimmy has a little too much on his plate to be totally present for Fiona, but he’s more caring and considerate than Steve. Audiences always felt that Jimmy was gonetoo soon.
1 Mike
Mike embodies everything Fiona really wants in her life – at least, at the time she meets him, but he turns out to be one of the best of all of Fiona’s lovers on Shameless. After the whirlwind that was her relationship with Jimmy, she needs some normalcy in her life, and Mike gives her that. He’s also very kind and treats Fiona with the respect that not many of her other boyfriends do, and his character was a particular highlight of Shameless seasons 3 and 4. He starts out as Fiona’s corporate boss when she works at World Wide Cup.
It makes sense that Mike and Fiona don’t last, no matter how great their relationship may be; Mike is simply too ordinary for the life Fiona leads. She craves adventure, which is why she is so drawn to Steve. But as a romantic partner, Mike is easily Fiona’s best. He could have provided her with a happy, steady, and secure life, and they both clearly liked each other. Instead, Fiona made the decision to have an affair with his brother, Robbie, which wrecked their prospective future.