Who is Chicago Fire Chief Wallace Boden’s ex-wife, Shonda?

Boden’s ex-wife from prior to Chicago Fire was Shonda (Shanesia Davis). While the two were married, he helped raise his stepson, Jimmy (Juan Lozada), but Shonda objected to Boden continuing to see Jimmy following the divorce. (More on that below.)

She first appeared in Season 1 when Boden attempted to reconnect with Jimmy despite her objections, though he was not immediately able to maintain the relationship with his former stepson.

Shonda turned up in Boden’s life again in Season 5, when Jimmy — who had started going by James — sought help from the Bodens to escape his mother’s abusive boyfriend in Episode 7 (“Lift Each Other”). Shonda ultimately ended the relationship with the boyfriend once she learned of the abuse, and she and James went to live with her mother.

In Chicago Fire Season 12, Episode 4 (“The Little Things”), James came to tell Boden that Shonda had gotten arrested on drug trafficking changes and, on the advice of her public defender, was considering a plea in exchange for three to five years in prison. He asked for Boden’s help to hire a lawyer to beat the charges and Boden agreed.

But, when Boden visited Shonda in jail to tell her he was looking for help to fight the case, she confessed to being guilty of the crime and was adamant about taking the plea because she understood the severity of her actions. She did, however, not want him to tell James… which he did anyway.

In the end, it was clear Shonda was heading to federal prison and James was going to be spending more time with his ex-stepfather.