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Succession: what happened to Roman Roy's wife and child?

A thorough investigation into what happened to Roman Roy's wife and child from season one

Roman Roy with family in Succession
Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
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Succession's Roman Roy is, as we know, a very complicated character. The fan favourite slime puppy has some serious mommy and daddy issues, an unhealthy relationship with an older woman (that somehow the internet ships), and certainly doesn't seem to be in the right mindset for a wife and child. So why did he appear to have both in season one?

Despite Roman's character developing over several seasons as an emotionally complex individual who struggles to hold down a healthy relationship, the pilot episode of the show sees the youngest Roy sibling joined by what appeared to be his wife Grace and daughter Isla at Logan's birthday party.

WATCH: What happened to Grace and Isla on Succession?

In the episode, Roman and Grace are both wearing wedding rings, and the actress who plays his wife, Molly Griggs, is credited as Grace Roy on IMDB – appearing to confirm that at one point, Roman was intended to be a married man. However, Grace's daughter Isla is slightly more ambiguous, as Kendall refers to her as his children's 'friend' instead of their 'cousin' in the same scene.

In the show, the pair eventually break up, and no mention is made of either Grace or Isla again, with Roman eventually striking up failed relationships with Tabitha and Gerri.

Grace Roy in Succession season one© HBO
Grace Roy in Succession season one

MORE: Succession's Brian Cox breaks silence on Logan Roy's shocking episode three twist

MORE: Meet the real-life families of the cast of Succession

This isn't the first time that the writers changed a character from the pilot episode, as Brian Cox also revealed that Logan wasn't originally from Scotland. He explained: "I suggested that Logan Roy could be Scots and Jesse [Armstrong, creator] said, 'Oh no no, he needs to be American, he can't be Scottish.' [Executive producer] Adam McKay on the other hand thought it was a great idea, but Jesse said, 'No no, he's got to be American'. So they decided in the pilot that I was born in Quebec, which isn't really America."

Roman with Gerri© HBO
Roman had a dysfunctional relationship with Gerri

He later added: "Peter Friedman, who plays Frank, said to me, 'I've just done an ADR session: they've changed your birthplace, you're not from Quebec anymore. I said, 'So where am I born?' He said, 'I can't remember...', and he goes and gets his device out and he goes, 'Oh yeah, somewhere called Dundee, Scotland' […] that's [expletive] writers for you."

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