‘The Big Bang Theory’: Have Any Cast Members Dated in Real Life?

The Big Bang Theory was one of the most popular primetime shows on TV during its dozen-year run between 2007 and 2019. And during that time, the show’s cast grew incredibly close — and most of them remain friends today. But did any of those TV relationships blossom into real-life romances?

‘The Big Bang Theory’ highlighted several romantic relationships during its run

When The Big Bang Theory first premiered on CBS back in 2007, it seemed like none of the show’s characters would ever find love. Leonard (Johnny Galecki) was pining for Penny (Kaley Cuoco) from the start, but her relationship with her ex-boyfriend had recently ended once she learned he’d cheated on her.

Penny and Leonard ended up going on a date toward the end of season 1, and it proved to be the start of a long climb to their eventual wedding. It took several seasons for the couple’s relationship to truly get off the ground, though they eventually got married.

Sheldon (Jim Parsons) didn’t stay single, either. He met Amy (Mayim Bialik) in the show’s season 3 finale, though they were another couple who had a slow start. The two didn’t end up getting married until the season 11 finale, and for the first few years, fans were confused as to where their relationship even stood.

On the other hand, Howard (Simon Helberg) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) began dating in season 3, and they were married by season 5.

Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco dated in real life

Though the cast members developed close relationships throughout years of filming, only one of those friendships turned romantic. According to CinemaBlend, Cuoco and Galecki, who played on-screen lovers, actually dated for two years in real life. Cuoco once spoke about the awkward timing of the breakup on Dax Shepard’s podcast, where she said that she and Galecki’s characters were in a good place, despite that the real-life couple had ended things.

“I remember when we broke up, obviously it was a little sensitive for a minute, but I remember those weeks that Chuck had written these episodes where all of a sudden our characters were sleeping together like every other second,” she said on the podcast. Cuoco also added that she and Galecki “came out of it so brilliantly,” and that the two are “closer today than we ever were.”

Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik have remained close friends off set

Despite several on-screen romances, Galecki and Cuoco were the only two cast members to ever date in real life. Parsons and Bialik, another on-screen couple, have remained close friends, though, and the two recently started another show together: Call Me Kat, for which Bialik is the star and Parsons is one of the producers.

The cast has remained close throughout the years, though most of them have gone on to marry other people. Parsons and his husband, Todd Spiewak, have been together since 2002, Cuoco is now married to Karl Cook. Galecki and Bialik both had longtime partners, though both are single right now.