9-1-1 Cheating Storyline Lays the Groundwork For a Twist That’ll Thrill Half the Audience — and Infuriate the Rest

Expect the unexpected in the world of Ryan Murphy. Fans suspect that Eddie cheating on Marisol in 9-1-1 could set up romantic storyline viewers never thought would happen.

Edmundo “Eddie” Diaz is a firefighter and paramedic at Los Angeles Fire Department’s fictional Station 118 in 9-1-1. The series, which premiered in 2018 and also includes spin-off 9-1-1: Lone Star, follows the personal and professional lives of first responders — including police officers, paramedics, and dispatchers — in Los Angeles, California.

Eddie, played by Ryan Guzman, joined 9-1-1 in Season 2. He started dating his current girlfriend, Marisol, in Season 6 after he rescues Marisol’s brother, Vincent, from a construction accident. Marisol is Eddie’s second major love interest since his ex-girlfriend, from 9-1-1 Season 3 to 5 and the death of his wife, Shanon Diaz, who he shared his son Christopher with, in the Season 2 finale. Ever since Eddie and Marisol met, things seemed to be going well for them. That all changed in 9-1-1 Season 7 when made a decision that changed their relationship for ever. Read on for why Eddie cheated on Marisol in 9-1-1 and the romantic storyline fans think the series is setting up.

Does Eddie cheat on Marisol in 9-1-1?

Does Eddie cheat on Marisol in 9-1-1? The answer is yes. In Season 7, Episode 7, “A Ghost of a Second Chance,” Eddie Diaz and Marisol decide to slow down their relationship after their plans to move in together. The couple seemed be doing well in the first half of the episode as they enjoyed ice cream and explored Los Angeles with Eddie’s son, Christopher, who he shared with his late wife, Shannon.

Things took a turn for the worse when Eddie notices a shop owner who looked a lot like Shannon, who died in the Season 2 finale from a car crash. (The actress who plays the woman is the same actress who played Shannon, Devin Kelly, except with a lighter hair color for the role.) The woman catches Eddie looking at her and the two make eye contact before Eddie goes back to find Marisol. Eddie returns to the store later that day without Marisol and talks to the woman, who introduces herself as Kim. The conversation then turns flirty.

“Who did you say you’re looking for again? Friend or girlfriend, maybe?” Kim asks Eddie as he shops for keychains. He responds by lying about his relationship wit Marisol. “Oh no, it’s just me and my son, Christopher. Single dad,” he says. He then leaves the store with “E” and “C” keychains but no “M” keychain.

Eddie then begins to daydream about his relationship with Shannon. “Where did you go just now?” Marisol asks him while noticing Eddie looking distracted at dinner. Eddie responds by not telling her the truth. “I’m here,” he says. The final scene fo the episode shows Eddie dropping off Christopher at his friend Buck’s house so he can go on what he claimed was a date with Marisol. Viewers soon learn ,however, that the date is with Kim, who he calls “beautiful.” Kim responds, “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

So why did Eddie cheat on Marisol in 9-1-1? Fans suspect that Eddie’s infidelity could be how 9-1-1 is writing Eddie and Marisol’s breakup as a way to create the opportunity for a romantic relationship between him and Buck, a couple many fans have wanted since Eddie joined 9-1-1 in Season 2. Other fans, however, have loved Eddie’s relationship with Marisol, so whatever happens to happens with his romantic life, the result is sure to divide viewers.

In an interview with TV Insider in May 2024, Ryan Guzman, who plays Eddie, confirmed that 9-1-1 is taking baby steps toward a potential relationship between Eddie and Buck, who came out as bisexual earlier in Season 7. “We just got to the point where Buck is having this own personal growth of himself, so it’s like baby steps towards anything and if anything,” he said.

Guzman continued that Buck is “showcasing on national television: a bisexual man coming out to a heterosexual man and having the strength to do such, and then having the heterosexual man giving that man a safe space to be caught in and to be loved and nurtured. I think there’s still an air out there in the world that your sexuality preference determines if you’re weak or not, or determines if you’re capable or not, of being just a good human being, which is such a crazy thing to think about. I love that we get to dispel that ideology and we get to showcase and reflect to the world that your sexual preference has no meaning in friendships and connection. Accept people for who they are, love people for who they are, and let’s keep it pushing. Let’s have fun. Let’s have a great time.”

Guzman also confirmed that 9-1-1 has “all the ideas” for Eddie and Buck to get together. It’s only a matter of making those ideas happen. “So I think with all the love that we’ve gotten and all the ideas of Eddie and Buck being together, the truth of the matter is right now that we need to live in this space and showcase this so the world can see that this is how you handle this situation,” he said.

Guzman also told TV Insider in another interview why Eddie chose to also lie to Buck about seeing Kim in addition to Marisol. “He’s weaving a very dangerous web. I think this is the first time we’re actually seeing him lie to the people that he cares about, and especially Christopher most of all,” he said. “I think the way he justifies—and the way I had to justify it as far as Ryan playing Eddie—is he’s doing a service to Christopher by safeguarding his emotions and his feelings and his mental stability.

He continued, “‘I can’t tell you that I’m going on a date with a person that looks exactly like your dead mother.’ I don’t know if that conversation goes well. So he is leaning into this separate identity lifestyle that is uncharted territory. So he doesn’t know how to act, so he’s doing things he’s never done before.”

He went on to explain that Eddie kept his date with Kim a secret because of the trauma he’s still not over after Shannon’s death. “I think for him—and again, justifying the character—he has to keep this to himself. This is his thing. He doesn’t want to share it with anybody else,” he said. “He shared so much in Season 5. He shared so much in Season 6. There’s so much of him breaking himself down and going to lengths and emotions that he’s never explored before.”

He continued, “But now this is a moment where it’s trauma that hasn’t really been given a solution to, is the Shannon character that he’s never been able to get past and he’s trying to fill this void in so many other women, and now he’s got this opportunity to possibly relive the past. I don’t want to dilute the incredible fact that I’m given this once-in-a-billion life chance by just sharing it to anybody. I want to live in it.”

As for his relationship with Marisol, Guzman hinted TV Insider that Eddie and Marisol may never have a successful relationship until he’s healed his trauma after Shannon’s death. “Well, it brings to mind a question of how far can you really get when you’re holding onto something else. You can only take certain steps forward. And I believe that as much growth as he’s had by holding onto the past as strongly as he has, that growth will stagnate at some point in time,” he said. “He’ll hit the ceiling for that. And I don’t believe that he has lied to Marisol as far as how much he cares about her and how much he loves her. I think there are so many parts of Marisol that he’s infatuated with and he could see himself in a long-term way with her. But for Eddie and all of his repression of his own emotions, he can’t let go of this past and until he learns how to let go of the past, there’s no future for anybody.”