Matthew MacFadyen on why Tom and Shiv are together (with TomShiv backstory crumbs).
“He was able to – we decided that she was in a very very bad way when they met. She’d come out of an awful relationship; a heartbreaking relationship and he was there to pick up the pieces and he was just a solid or a safe pair of hands. And so he quite liked playing that part – playing that role.”
From an interview with Matthew MacFadyen for the Official Succession Podcast S4E7
The dark place Shiv was in has gotten a few additional mentions in the show and interviews. A few additional script (and one interview) excerpts below the cut, as well as some potential detective work on Shiv’s relationship history.
Based on the Season 1 mention of Shiv being "a mess" when Tom and Shiv met, it sounds like Tom entered the story right after or at the tail end of her bad breakup:
And from their fight in "Living +" it seems like TK might have been the guy she had the awful/heartbreaking relationship with:
And just to throw Nate into the mix, this would mean he's at least two guys ago for Shiv (TK and Tom) by the time they start up their thing again.
So I guess if one were mapping out Shiv's relationships (based on what we know) it would be Nate -> TK -> Tom -> Nate 2.0 (diet commitment version).
Also for completeness, a bonus quote of Sarah discussion Shiv's past. (x)