An ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ Fan Theory Suggests Robert Was in Love With Debra

Everybody Loves Raymond was all about Ray Barone and his interactions with his family. Ray was, undoubtedly and often begrudgingly, the main focus of his family. While fans of the iconic series were equally focused on Ray, their attention moved over to the other Barone brother every so often. Robert Barone was one of the show’s most mysterious and complicated characters. Why was he so angry and despondent, anyway? One Everybody Loves Raymond fan theory might explain exactly why Robert was so miserable. Some fans think he was in love with Debra Barone. 

An ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ fan theory argues that Robert is in love with Debra 

Robert Barone spent much of Everybody Loves Raymond miserable. You could argue that he was unhappy because things weren’t going well for him. Still, one Everybody Loves Raymond fan theory argues that there was more to it than that. 

Some fans theorize that Robert was so miserable because he was dealing with feelings of unrequited love. The often-maligned fan theory argues that Robert’s anger toward Raymond isn’t about Raymond or how clearly favored he was by Marie and Frank Barone. Instead, the theory suggests Robert is jealous of Raymond because he secretly loves Debra. It might be a zany theory, but it makes a fair bit of sense. In fact, Robert and Debra always seemed like they’d have been a better romantic fit than Debra and Ray were. 

All of Robert’s jealousy can be traced back to Raymond’s marriage 

Robert was always jealous of Raymond. At first glance, most people think Robert was jealous of the attention Raymond received from his parents or his career accolades. That may not be the case, though. When you look closely, trouble between Robert and Ray started to brew shortly after Ray met Debra, according to a flashback episode. 

Robert and Ray were friendly and seemed to spend a lot of time together before Debra showed up. The flashback dating episode did not portray Robert as jealous or gloomy either. He seemed to grow resentful of Raymond sometime after he married Debra. Robert was never impressed by Ray’s career, his home, or any of his possessions. Instead, Robert was obsessed with why others perceived Raymond so favorably. You could argue that it all started with Debra choosing Ray.  

Robert knew more about Debra than he should have

Aside from acting jealous of Raymond, other evidence points to Robert having unrequited feelings for Debra. Robert was just too interested in Debra. 

Robert was quick to help Debra whenever he could. He remembered things she told him. For example, he remembered the book her thesis was based on. Robert relished any alone time he spent with Debra, like when they went dancing together. He was always quick to take Debra’s side during marital spats. Sure, you could say that was largely because he resented Raymond, but it feels a bit more flirtatious and intimate than that. 

The ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ fan theory could explain why Robert was so reluctant to settle down with Amy

If the Everybody Loves Raymond fan theory is correct, and Robert was in love with Debra, it would explain why he was so reluctant to settle down with Amy. Sure, Robert and Amy eventually married, but Robert strung Amy along for years. He broke up with her, then fought to get her back. Then he entertained the idea of getting back together with his wife and cheated on her with Stefania while on vacation.

You could argue that Robert was just a bad person, but it doesn’t feel right. Robert was nice to the other women he dated, probably because the relationships never got too serious. You could argue that Robert was so wishy-washy when it came to Amy because he was afraid to settle down and give up the dream of, perhaps, being with Debra. Amy and Debra were friends, so in the end, he might have considered her the next best option.