Why did Fiona leave Shameless?

Fiona Gallagher, the defacto leader of her rambunctious family, left Shameless at the end of Season 9, but why did she leave?

Shameless, the American adaptation of the same named British series, became the longest-running original scripted series in Showtime’s history thanks to its colorful cast and over-the-top storylines.

The series followed the Gallagher family as they lived on the poorer southside of Chicago and had to rely on one another along with their wits just to survive.

One of the stand members of the family was undoubtably Fiona, who acted as the family’s matriarch figure despite being the eldest sister. She was a staple in the show for its first nine seasons before she departed, but why exactly did Fiona leave Shamless?

Why did Fiona leave in Shameless?

Fiona Gallagher left Shameless due to her growing career and her family not needing her her.

When she began a career as a realtor after buying an apartment building in Chicago’s southside, Fiona gained a lot more independence from her family. As she became more successful and busy, she didn’t have time to tend to the needs of her ever growing family.

And that ties into the biggest reason why Fiona ended leaving Chicago and Shameless as her family simply outgrew needing her. By the time Fiona left at the end of Season 9, her younger sister, Debbie, was a mother, her brother, Lip, was trying to raise another one of their young siblings, and her youngest brother, Carl, was off in the military.

While Fiona may have put her life on hold for years to raise her siblings, at the end of the series, they were all grown up and didn’t need in the same way they did before.

Also, it must be said that Fiona’s actress Emmy Rossum did decide to depart from the series to pursue other acting opportunities after starring in the series for almost a decade, but it seems like Fiona’s departure was set in the stars whether Rossum wanted to leave or not.