What happened to Paige in Young Sheldon?

Ahead of the Young Sheldon Season 7 finale, it’s unclear if we’ll see Paige again — so, what happened to her?

Premiering in 2017, Young Sheldon proved to be a worthy prequel series to The Big Bang Theory, starring Iain Armitage as the child version of Jim Parsons’ character in the parent sitcom.  

Season 7 has been a rollercoaster, with the Coopers recovering from a tornado, Sheldon getting ready for Caltech, Georgie and Mandy trying to raise Cece, and in Episode 12, George finally died.

While the story of Young Sheldon technically continues in The Big Bang Theory, Paige isn’t mentioned in the original sitcom — so what happened to Sheldon’s rival?

What happened to Paige in Young Sheldon?

Paige Swanson, portrayed by Mckenna Grace, is a child prodigy and rival to Sheldon Cooper in Young Sheldon. But she is never mentioned in The Big Bang Theory, so we can assume the pair eventually grew apart. The hope is that Paige’s story reaches a happy conclusion in Season 7, eventually finding contentment in her life.

Paige first appears in Young Sheldon Season 2, where she is introduced as a fellow child prodigy and a classmate of Sheldon’s in Dr. John Sturgis’ class. Initially, Paige is portrayed as a cheerful and somewhat smarter contemporary of Sheldon, which adds a new dimension to his experiences in his early years​​.

As the series progresses, her character arc takes a more complex and darker turn. Paige’s struggles become more apparent in Season 3, following her parents’ divorce, which significantly impacts her appearance and personality – she even dies a pink streak in her hair, which in sitcom terms means she’s now a rebel. 

These challenges escalate in the show’s 100th episode, where Paige, then a member of a lecture team from the University of Austin, visits Sheldon at East Texas Tech. Faced with social difficulties and feeling out of place, she makes the drastic decision to leave college and flee, leading to further turmoil in her life.

Paige’s journey continues in Season 6, when she returns to reveal that she has dropped out of school and feels alienated. Her distress is clear when she almost leaves a college party with an older guy, only to be stopped by Sheldon and his sister, Missy. 

In Episode 16 of the same season, Paige and Missy attempt to escape to Florida by stealing a truck but are stopped by the police. This episode marks her last appearance in the series so far, leaving open the possibility of her return in Season 7, where she might find some peace in her life. 

Despite Paige being a significant character in Sheldon’s childhood, she is never mentioned in The Big Bang Theory. This could be down to Sheldon’s character being socially flawed and perhaps choosing not to discuss someone who brought such complexity to his formative years. Or it could simply be a continuity issue. 

Before the finale, make sure you’re clued up on how to watch Young Sheldon, and check out everything we know about Young Sheldon Season 8.