Sara Gilbert and Kaley Cuoco have, at different points, both dated Johnny Galecki in real life and on screen. Gilbert was going out with the Belgian-born star as teenagers, while they both starred in the ABC sitcom Roseanne. Their characters, Darlene Conner and David Healy, were love interests.
Cuoco would mirror the same pattern years later, when she and Galecki played leading roles on CBS’ The Big Bang Theory. And just like his previous relationship with Gilbert, the Leonard Hofstadter star went out with his co-star at a time when their characters were also romantically involved.
It made for some awkward moments on set, particularly after his relationship with Cuoco ended, but they still had to film intimate scenes together. Gilbert herself enjoyed a recurring role in Big Bang, which means she would have been privy to her ex’s dalliance with their colleague, who played Penny on the show.
Sara Gilbert Was Happy For Johnny Galecki And Kaley Cuoco, And Was One Of The First To Know About Their Secretive Relationship
Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco are believed to have become an item at some point in 2007, the same year that The Big Bang Theory debuted on CBS. That relationship is said to have lasted for about two years until December 2009.
In their very early months together, the pair worked very hard to keep their personal involvement private from their colleagues. They eventually decided to let their co-stars know. Many of them were indeed surprised by the revelation, but Sara Gilbert was adamant that she already knew beforehand.
The Roseanne star made her point when Cuoco visited The Talk on CBS in 2013, where Gilbert was one of the show hosts. As the famous guest took plaudits from the panel for her ability to keep their relationship secret, Gilbert interjected, saying, “I knew, I knew!”
Chuck Lorre decided to have some fun with Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco’s Big Bang Theory characters following their breakup.
Cuoco confirmed that this was indeed the case, and they laughed the moment off. If Gilbert had any remnant feelings for Galecki, she definitely did not let them slip in that particular exchange.
Johnny Galecki Helped Sara Gilbert To Discover Her True Sexuality
Sara Gilbert spoke about her process of discovering her true identity as a gay woman, during a different episode of The Talk. She revealed that the watershed moment for her came at a time when she was going out with Johnny Galecki.
“I thought he was super cute and had a crush on him,” Gilbert told the panel about her initial attraction to her Roseanne co-star. It wasn’t until things got serious between them, however, that the actress started to realize that something was wrong.
“We started dating, and he would come over and we would make out, and then I would start to get depressed,” she recalled. It did not take long for her to connect the dots and figure out why the spark never ignited between her and Galecki.
Some former cast members feel that the Chuck Lorre series was the pinnacle of their career. This is especially true for Cuoco and Galecki.
Thankfully, she said, he was very gracious when she ultimately garnered the courage to let him know. “I eventually told him I thought it was about my sexuality, and he was super sweet about it,” Gilbert insisted.
Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki’s lives have moved on in many ways since they ended their relationship in 2009. Despite the initial awkwardness, the pair have managed to remain friends in the years since, often supporting each other’s personal and professional milestones.
On the back of her two-year fling with her TBBT co-star, Cuoco endured something of whirlwind times romantically, as she was involved in a number of relationships that did not work out. She was in a very short-lived engagement, for instance to addiction specialist Josh Resnik in 2011.
She would then go on to get married twice, to tennis star Ryan Sweeting and then equestrian Karl Cook, with both relationships culminating in divorce. The actress started seeing Ozark star Tom Pelphrey in 2022. They even welcomed a daughter together in 2023, but Cuoco insists she has no plans to walk down the aisle again.
Galecki has also endured his fair share of relationship turmoil, as he broke up with Alaina Meyer in 2020. The couple have a son together, born in November 2019. The actor later privately got married to and welcomed a baby girl with Morgan Galecki.
