It was all love for The Big Bang Theory when the series ended.
Over the sitcom’s 12 seasons and 279 episodes, the beloved cast — which included Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar and Kaley Cuoco — became household names.
Although their Big Bang Theory characters were passionate about science, physics and Star Trek, their geek gang eventually found romance too. Sheldon (Jim) and Amy (Mayim Bialik) bonded over their shared interests, while Leonard (Johnny) quickly fell for Penny (Kaley).
Off the sitcom’s set, Jim met his husband, Todd Spiewak, on a blind date in 2002, and Johnny found love with his wife, Morgan Galecki, in 2023. Similarly, Kaley is engaged to fellow actor Tom Pelphrey and Mayim professionally collaborates with her long-term partner, Jonathan Cohen.
In honor of the CBS show airing its final episode six years ago on May 16, 2019, here’s everything to know about the real-life loves of The Big Bang Theory cast.
Jim Parsons and Todd Spiewak
Jim played theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, who eventually finds his match with fellow scientist Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim).
In real life, Jim has been married to his husband, Todd Spiewak, since 2017. Fifteen years prior, the couple met on a blind date at a karaoke bar in 2002.
“I’ll never forget that late fall into the holidays when we spent so much time together just falling more in love,” Jim told PEOPLE in December 2022. “Every time there’s that smell when the air gets cold in New York, it always reminds me.”
In a 2012 New York Times profile, the actor shared that he was in a decade-long relationship. When he won a third Emmy for playing Sheldon the following year, Jim dedicated the award to his “favorite person on the planet, Todd Spiewak.”
The pair wed on May 13, 2017, an act that was “much more meaningful” to Jim than he anticipated.
“I had been an adult gay person for so long at a time where that wasn’t possible where life was ‘fine’ for me,” Jim said during a September 2017 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “It’s been resonantly much more meaningful for me afterward than I ever saw coming.”
Johnny Galecki and Morgan Galecki
Johnny portrayed experimental physicist Leonard Hofstadter on the long-running sitcom, who falls in love with his neighbor Penny (Kaley). Away from the cameras, the actor is more private about his relationships.
In a February 2024 cover story for Architectural Digest, Johnny revealed that he had secretly married his wife, Morgan Galecki. He did not divulge when the two wed, but they have been together since at least the year before.
In January 2023, Morgan made her first appearance on Johnny’s Instagram, in a carousel of photos from a visit to Walt Disney World in Orlando.
They are parents to a daughter, Oona Evelena. Johnny also has a son, Avery, whom he shares with his ex-girlfriend Alaina Meyer.
Kaley Cuoco and Tom Pelphrey
While Kaley’s character Penny eventually married Leonard, the actress had more of a whirlwind romance with Tom Pelphrey.
The couple met while Tom worked on the Netflix drama Ozark in April 2022.
“I heard his voice, and I turned around, and it was like my life was over, or just starting. It hit me. It was love at first sight,” she recalled to USA Today shortly after. “We were immediately connected. I do feel like I’ve known him my whole life, but I wasn’t ready for him.”
About a year later, Kaley announced the birth of their daughter, Matilda Carmine Richie Pelphrey, who was born on March 30, 2023. “The new light of our lives! We are overjoyed and grateful for this little miracle,” she wrote.
By the following summer, the pair were engaged. More recently, in April 2025, Kaley celebrated their dating anniversary with a sweet Instagram tribute to her fiancé.
“💫3💫 love you more than ever @tommypelphrey,” she captioned a selfie of them. “🫖-time for life ♥️.”
Simon Helberg and Jocelyn Towne
Simon played aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz in The Big Bang Theory. In season 3, the character meets Bernadette Rostenkowski (Melissa), and their relationship is a slow burn.
Off camera, Simon has been in a long-term relationship with fellow actress Jocelyn Towne, whom he married in July 2007. They have two kids: daughter Adeline and son Wilder.
Apart from acting, Jocelyn also writes and directs. She and Simon co-directed the 2014 romantic comedy, We’ll Never Have Paris, based on their real-life breakup and eventual reconciliation.
“I wanted to challenge the world to see if there was anybody who had any more disastrous, horrific, clumsy breakup and proposal stories,” Jocelyn quipped in a January 2015 conversation with Interview magazine. “So far I think I’m winning.”
Kunal Nayyar and Neha Kapur
Out of all The Big Bang Theory characters, Kunal’s portrayal of particle astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali knew how to keep viewers on their toes.
While Raj struggled with dating on the sitcom, Kunal had a meet-cute with his wife, Neha Kapur. The actor and former Miss India met at a bar opening in 2008.
“My first thought was, This is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” Kunal recalled to Glamour in December 2017. “My second thought was, She’s way out of my league.”
Three years after crossing paths, Kunal and Neha married on Dec. 22, 2011, during a traditional Indian wedding in Neha’s hometown of New Delhi, India. The lavish celebration lasted six days and had 1,000 guests.
In 2021, the private couple celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary with sweet Instagram posts.
“We may be unconventional, but I remembered how we promised to not live our lives according to someone else’s version of it,” Kunal wrote. “Cheers to you, champion, partner, best friend. Whatever is to come, I am lucky we have tomorrow.”
Neha posted on her own Instagram, marking the special occasion with two cute photos. “Like rivers.. we chose our own paths and come back to merge as one,” she wrote, adding the date of their wedding and ending with, “Happy 10 my love.”
Melissa Rauch and Winston Rauch
Melissa’s portrayal of graduate student Bernadette on the sitcom was memorable to say the least, and it seems she had real-life personal experiences to draw from.
She met her husband, Winston Rauch, when they were both freshmen at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City. The two became writing partners, working on comedy sketches together.
Melissa and Winston eventually started dating, and they wed in 2007. In the following years, they started a family, welcoming their daughter Sadie and son Brooks.
“He is my best friend and the love of my life,” the Night Court actress told New Jersey Monthly in October 2014, when speaking about Winston, who took her last name after they married. “The only thing I regret is not meeting him even sooner, as my life has just gotten better since he came into it.”
Professionally, they have collaborated on creative projects, including the 2015 movie, The Bronze. In 2021, they co-founded a pediatric cancer charity, Oscar’s Kids.
Mayim Bialik and Jonathan Cohen
Mayim’s character helped Big Bang Theory fans see a different side to Sheldon and away from the cameras, the actress also has a lot in common with her partner, Jonathan Cohen.
The two originally met over “10 years ago at a toddler’s birthday party.” In January 2021, they launched their podcast, Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown, which Jonathan co-hosts and serves as an executive producer on.
According to the podcast’s website, Jonathan “is a writer, poet, producer, father and futurist who imagines and designs new applications of technology.”
In a February 2021 interview with the Jewish News Syndicate, Mayim spoke about collaborating on the audio project with Jonathan, saying they are “creative and writing partners.”
Mayim was previously married to Michael Stone, and they share two sons: Miles and Frederick.
Read the full article here
