Why Emmy Rossum Says ‘Shameless’ Nude Scenes Affected Her Dating Life: “All These Preconceived Notions”

Emmy Rossum is getting candid about how playing Fiona Gallagher on Shameless for nine years impacted her dating life.

While sitting down with Maria Sharapova on a recent episode of the Pretty Tough podcast, the Furious actress admitted that her character’s nude scenes made dating difficult in her 20s because of “preconceived notions” that men had about her.

“It got quite tricky because of the nudity on the show,” she said. “All of the guys that I would go out with had preconceived notions of who I was or how I was sexually. It was totally bizarre.”

Rossum recalled one instance in which she went on a date with a guy who had aspirations about a career in politics. However, he admitted he was hesitant about being associated with the actress because of her Shameless scenes.

“He was like, ‘I really want to be president someday.’ And I was like, ‘Wow, that’s a great goal,'” she said. “He’s like, ‘But I feel like running for office dating someone who’s been exposed in the way that you have — do you think that would be tricky for me?’ And I was like, ‘This is an insane conversation to have.'”

The Crowded Room actress continued, “So, I think growing up in your 20s, you’re dating. You’re trying to figure out who you are. You’re coming into your own as an artist. And there’s also all these preconceived notions about you that are out there that are associated with [you] because your body is your art, right? And people can get confused.”

Rossum was 24 years old when Shameless premiered in 2011. She left the series in 2019 after season nine.

Shameless followed the chaotic lives of the Gallagher family living in poverty on the South Side of Chicago. William H. Macy, Jeremy Allen White, Ethan Cutkosky, Steve Howey, Shanola Hampton, Emma Kenney and Cameron Monaghan also starred in the show.