Bazinga, can you believe it's been 15 years since The Big Bang Theory premiered?!
On Sept. 24, 2007, the Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady-created sitcom about a beautiful aspiring actress moving in across the hall from two nerdy physicists debuted on CBS and was an instant hit, eventually becoming TV's most watched comedy. Fans couldn't get enough of the laughs, the cast, including Kaley Cuoco, Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki, or the show's beloved couples—Penny and Leonard, Amy and Sheldon, oh my!
And, of course, the romance wasn't just happening on-screen. Cuoco and Galecki quietly embarked on a relationship in 2008, the former couple recently revealing that they were feeling the same will-they-or-won't-they tension their characters were experiencing in the beginning of the series.
"All the scenes up until we actually got together in real life, it was obvious there was always something there," Kaley told Vanity Fair in a book excerpt from the new oral history, The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story. "There was chemistry, and we were crushing on each other. That was the whole first season until we actually got together for real."
The co-stars broke up after two years, with Galecki admitting their differing viewpoints on sharing their lives with the public played a major factor in their decision to end the relationship.
"I think one of the things that created a chasm between us was my strict policies of privacy, and Kaley being very, very open about her life," Galecki explained. "I was very uncomfortable with being public about it, and I think that hurt Kaley's feelings a little bit, and I can understand that. It certainly wasn't because I was embarrassed of her or our relationship, but I wanted to be protective of the audience's acceptance of Penny and Leonard, and without distraction from the tabloids."
Cuoco and Galecki continued to work together until TBBT ended its 12-season run in 2019, with both stars going on to enter new romances while maintaining a close friendship.
The rest of the crew also graduated on to great things: New relationships, Emmy nods and, oh yeah, one star became the new host of Jeopardy! Check out what the cast of The Big Bang Theory has been up to since the show ended:
The Big Bang Theory is streaming on Paramount Plus.