Johnny Galecki And Sara Gilbert: The Untold Truth Of Their Relationship

Johnny Galecki and Sara Gilbert's longtime friendship is the epitome of friendship goals. These two shot to child stardom with their iconic performances as lovebirds David Healy and Darlene Conner during the original run of "Roseanne."

Since leaving the hit ABC sitcom, Galecki's become better known as Dr. Leonard Hofstadter on "The Big Bang Theory" after its 2007 premiere. He also took his talents behind the camera, serving as an executive producer on the short-lived comedy series "Living Biblically" in 2018. Meanwhile, Gilbert went on to create, executive produce, and co-host the daytime talk show "The Talk" in 2010. She's also guest-starred on a number of TV series, reuniting with her old pal on "The Big Bang Theory" and "Living Biblically."

Despite the occasional lulls in their post-"Roseanne" careers, these multi-hyphenates have basically been killing it. While there's much to be said about the evolving romance between Darlene and David in the "Roseanne" reboot, how much do you really know about this duo's real-life relationship?

In addition to playing one of TV's most beloved couples, Johnny Galecki and Sara Gilbert dated in real life in the early '90s. But what many people didn't know about Sara Gilbert — even she herself — was that she was gay. This revelation came to her during her short-lived romance with Galecki.

"I thought he was super cute and I had a total crush on him," she revealed on "The Talk" in 2013. "And we started dating and he would come over and we would, like, make out, and then I would start to get depressed." Her co-star initially took it personally, but once she explained she was attracted to women, "He was super sweet about it," keeping her sexuality a secret during the original "Roseanne."

After coming out publicly in 2010, Gilbert told Galecki she'd decided to open up about her journey on her show. "[He said], 'Of course. I love you and I think it's really important and I'm so proud of you,'" she recalled of his unwavering support. ""If you want, I will be there and I will hold your hand.'" While their teen romance didn't work out, the experience formed the foundation of their decades-long friendship.

A sign of true friendship is nicknames, and Johnny Galecki and Sara Gilbert have plenty of them stemming from their "Roseanne" days. To start, ever since a red carpet blunder, Galecki has been known as "Charles" to Sara.

"It started as Charlie because Sara took me to my first film premiere ... all the photographers are yelling 'Sara, Sara, Sara' ... one photographer recognized me... and yelled out 'Johnny' and all the photographers on the other side of the carpet heard 'Charlie,'" Galecki explained on "The Talk" in 2016. While the nickname stuck, it eventually matured to "Charles." Gilbert chimed in, saying, "And then he started calling me 'Soapy.'" "Well, you just smelled good," Galecki explained, adding that "The Talk" co-host also used to go by "Scruffy" on the set of their '90s sitcom due to a pair of heavy paratrooper boots. "All the crew knew that Sara was coming from around the corner because you just heard 'scuff scuff scuff.'"

After the original "Roseanne" wrapped in 1997, Johnny Galecki and Sara Gilbert have become longtime collaborators. But the idea of reuniting on screen wasn't always a given. The pair made headlines when they did so for first time a decade later on "The Big Bang Theory." Sara had a recurring role as Dr. Leslie Winkle, a super brainy, sarcastic love interest for Galecki's Leonard. 

"That was not as premeditated as it seems," Galecki told the AV Club in 2010, admitting, "I had a concern ... that it would come off as gimmicky." But the actor added, "The truth of the matter is that life's just too short to not work with people that you adore working with and spending time with. So she came on."

Since then, the two have often brought each other onto their new projects, including Gilbert's "The Talk," the "Roseanne" reboot, and Galecki's "Living Biblically." "She was always on the list before there was a character list," the actor-turned-executive producer told Variety in 2018, jokingly adding, "And then I made her audition."

While Johnny Galecki was no doubt sad to see his longtime friend Sara Gilbert leave her role as physicist love interest Leslie Winkle in "The Big Bang Theory" after just two seasons, he still gave her his full blessing.

Indeed, in an interview with Bullz-Eye.com, Galecki said that he understood why Gilbert had decided it was better to exit the show — whose writers admitted they didn't know how to write for Leslie — for good rather than hang around like a glorified extra. "You don't want to waste an actress like Sara Gilbert," Galecki said. "Fortunately, she doesn't need the work and would rather wait for it to be a good reason for the character to come back."

Galecki also confirmed that despite parting ways with the hit show, Gilbert still had nothing but love for the cast and crew. "I mean, Sara comes to our parties and stuff like that, even when she's not in the episode. And we love her, and we love having her there. It's just a situation of, when is it right to bring her back?" The long-running sitcom's fans will already know, of course, that Leslie was brought back but only for one-off episodes in Seasons 3 and 9.

When Sara Gilbert began the process of recharging ABC's "Roseanne" reboot, bringing Johnny Galecki back to reprise his role was a must. "To me, it was so important [to get Johnny back for an episode]," she told TVLine in 2018. "Our relationship was one of the central themes of Darlene's life 20 years ago. And to leave it unanswered would be so unsatisfying to me personally and to the fans."

However, considering Johnny's busy time commitment to "The Big Bang Theory" on CBS — a competitive network — Gilbert made sure she had a backup plan in case his return didn't work out. "It was going to be [Darlene] dealing with the heartbreak of him being an absent father," she explained, adding, "I was still going to deal with the relationship, but it would not have been the same without him."

Eventually, Galecki made it back to the set where it all started for him, calling it "possibly the most surreal experience of my life" in an Instagram snapshot from his episode's table read. "Deep thanks to my 'Big Bang Theory' family for knowing the importance of visiting one's roots and loaning me out for a quick minute." However, his role would be fleeting. Galecki showed up in a couple of episodes during Season 2, and Darlene and David considered getting back together. But in the end, Darlene ended up walking down the aisle with Jay R. Ferguson's Ben. "I think if Johnny didn't have an empire to run, he would've certainly been in more episodes," Gilbert added.

In preparation for the return of "Roseanne," Johnny Galecki and Sara Gilbert worked together to figure out where their respective on-screen alter egos would be 20 years later. They even named their TV son via text message. But revisiting these characters proved to be an emotional journey for the actors.

"We went through a bunch of things that were in his thoughts ... and I started crying, just from him telling me where he thought David was," Gilbert said (via Yahoo! Entertainment), explaining that her tearful response was a reflection of their real-life close bond. "So when we're dealing with that relationship, it naturally felt emotional to me."

As Galecki revealed on "The Talk," that moving moment actually happened just minutes before filming the pilot of "Living Biblically." "I said, 'The audience is filtering in.' I'm like, 'Don't you freakin' cry! You can't cry! You're gonna ruin my show, stop it!'" he jokingly recalled. "It was like that scene in 'A League of Their Own.' Like, 'There's no crying in sitcom!'" However, as Galecki admitted on IndieWire's "Turn It On" podcast, "I don't think what any of us had emotionally prepared for was being on that set again."

Johnny Galecki might have only appeared in four episodes of the "Roseanne" reboot "The Conners," but alongside his former fictional and real-life partner Sara Gilbert, he made his permanent mark on the show by helping to name one of the titular family's new characters.

While discussing the sitcom on her chat show "The Talk," Gilbert revealed that she'd reached out to Galecki to ask him what he thought their characters Darlene and David would have called their son. "And then I said, 'Oh, maybe Mark,' because Mark was played by Glenn Quinn, who was [Galecki's] brother on the show who passed away." Galecki instantly expressed his approval, replying, "Oh definitely Mark." Born and raised in Ireland, Quinn had spent seven seasons playing Mark Healy and was later cast as Allen Francis Doyle on the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" spin-off "Angel." Tragically, in 2002, he died from an accidental drug overdose.

Although they shared the same name, Mark, who was played by Ames McNamara, didn't appear to have much in common with his namesake. While his uncle was a rebellious, motorcycle-riding petty criminal, the 10-year-old was a fashionista with a non-conformist attitude to gender.

It appears as though Johnny Galecki used to have a thing for dating his on-screen love interests. While playing David Healy in "Roseanne," he entered into a relationship with Sara Gilbert, who played his girlfriend and future wife, Darlene Conner. Then in 2007, he began seeing Kaley Cuoco while their alter-egos Leonard Hofstadter and Penny on "The Big Bang Theory" were also an item.

Luckily, Gilbert, who by this point was in a relationship with producer Ali Adler, but wasn't openly out, didn't harbor any jealousy over this development in Galecki's romantic life. In fact, she was so delighted for the publicity-shy pair that she helped them to keep their budding romance — which lasted roughly two years — a secret.

Indeed, while appearing on "The Talk" in 2013, Cuoco recalled how she and Galecki initially tried to keep things on the down low, with even the rest of their cast mates unaware that life was now imitating art. However, Gilbert chimed in to point out that she'd already been privy to this information, something which her talk show guest backed up during the chat, too. Here's a further look at Johnny Galecki's dating history.

From "Young Sheldon" and "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage" to "Stuart Fails to Save the Universe," "The Big Bang Theory" has spawned its own universe of prequels and spin-offs. Fans will be delighted to hear that one of the original's most-loved supporting characters is open to the idea of returning. In fact, she's also expressed her disappointment that she didn't get to spend more time sharing the screen with Johnny Galecki in the first place.

Sara Gilbert was upgraded to a regular following her recurring stint on Season 1 as Leslie Winkle. But as she explained to Jessica Radloff during a guest appearance on "The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast," she was soon left surplus to requirements.

"I think the writers kind of hit a wall with the character, probably also because she leaves these dynamics quickly, you know, then kind of like, well, what do you do now?" Gilbert said (via Entertainment Weekly). "She's wired like that, and she left, and then there's no more story there, really. But yeah it was a blast, and I like to work, so I'm always happy to show up."

Having previously confided in her about his relationship with Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki further proved his trust in Sara Gilbert when he asked her to keep shtum about another life-changing piece of news. Being the consummate friend, the latter managed to keep it a secret even when put on the spot.

While welcoming Galecki to "The Talk," Gilbert revealed how she was made privy to the fact that her celebrity BFF and his other half at the time, Alaina Meyer, were expecting their first child. Gilbert was given this information at the wrap party for "The Big Bang Theory."

"I'm sitting with Johnny and his girlfriend ... and he's like, 'I gotta tell you, we're expecting a baby,'" Gilbert said. "When he said that, I burst into tears, so tears are coming down my face." The multi-talent then explained how she was then approached by co-host Aisha Tyler's one-time make-up artist, who believed she was crying for different reasons. "She walks up and says, 'I know, isn't it so sad that the show is ending?' And I couldn't say anything, so I was like, 'Oh yes, yes.'"

Johnny Galecki and Sara Gilbert's teen romance may have fizzled quicker than it began, but their decades-long platonic relationship exhibits total #BFFGoals. These besties are each other's biggest cheerleaders, and are known to share the cutest throwback photos on social media, whether it's an old promo shot, a still from the original "Roseanne," or a snap of Galecki kissing Gilbert on the head. "Just came across this," Galecki captioned the latter on Instagram, while gushing over his friend. "@thesaragilbert has a true heart that over the years has probably kept me from losing my mind in this industry / town. I love you, Soap."

But the best sign of their friendship was when Gilbert described their relationship, both on- and off-screen, in 2018. "There's just an indescribable chemistry between us," she said (via Yahoo! Entertainment), noting how close they've remained over the years. "It's very rare, and you have it with certain people and you don't have it with others, and we're just so fortunate that we have it. He truly is like a member of my family." These two are seriously too sweet.