Although The Big Bang Theory has been off the air for three years, fans still love learning about behind-the-scenes facts. The popular CBS series gave us a glance at geek culture. It followed the lives of Sheldon Cooper, Howard Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali, and Leonard Hofstadter, as well as their ladies, who later joined them.
One of the show’s favorite couples fans loved to watch was Howard and Bernadette. We saw their love story firsthand as they fell in love, got married, and had two kids. But there is one major plot twist that fans cannot let go of. Which of Bernadette’s pregnancies coincided with Melissa Rauch’s?
Bernadette was pregnant twice on ‘The Big Bang Theory‘
Bernadette Rostenkowski’s first appearance on The Big Bang Theory was in season 3. Her debut appearance on the show was when she joined Leonard and Penny on a double date with Howard. She was introduced as Penny’s (Kaley Cuoco) co-worker at The Cheesecake Factory.
It was that double date where Howard and Bernadette’s romance began as they bonded over their equally overbearing mothers. Their story unfolded naturally. Fans got to see them work through relationship hurdles. From their engagement in season 4 to their wedding in season 6 to Bernadette’s struggle with her dislike of children to the reveal of their first pregnancy in season 9, we saw it all.
Throughout the entire series, Howard and Bernadette are the only couple that bears children, although we never got to see them. Bernadette reveals her first pregnancy in season 9’s episode “The Positive Negative Reaction” when she tells her husband on Valentine’s Day. It is even admitted that their first child was conceived in Sheldon’s bed.
In season 10 episode “The Birthday Synchronicity,” she delivers their daughter, Halley Wolowitz who they named after Halley’s Comet. Bernadette finds out she is pregnant for the second time in season 11. She reveals it to her husband in the episode “The Proposal Proposal.”
The couple soon welcomes their baby boy, Neil Michael Wolowitz, named after the renowned astronaut Neil Armstrong, in the episode ‘The Neonatal Nomenclature.’
Bernadette’s second pregnancy coincided with Melissa Rauch’s first pregnancy
Many fans were surprised to discover that Bernadette’s second pregnancy was actually real. Rauch, who plays Bernadette, took to Instagram to announce that she and her husband, Winston Rauch, welcomed their first child on December 4, 2017.
Fans had missed reactions when they found out about Bernadette’s second pregnancy, given that she had recently given birth to their first baby girl. However, the news of Howard and Bernadette’s second pregnancy was pretty much overshadowed by Sheldon and Amy’s engagement.
According to Life & Style Magazine, The Big Bang Theory had no issues adding the pregnancy to Bernadette’s storyline. In an interview with new showrunner Steve Holland, the show’s producers saw that the new pregnancy was a lovely plot twist for the on-screen couple.
How did ‘The Big Bang Theory’ producers portray Melissa Rauch’s pregnancy?
The Big Bang Theory producers revealed they thought they would do the customary sitcom tradition of having Bernadette sit down a lot and cover her belly by placing items on her lap at first. However, they decided to add her pregnancy to the couple’s storyline and differentiate it from her first one.
For instance, when Bernadette went for her 16-week checkup, she was put on bed rest after being told she was pushing herself too hard. In actuality, the bed rest was an effort to support Rauch, who had previously had a miscarriage and had expressed her feelings about it eloquently in an open and intimate 2017 Glamour article.
In addition, Rauch’s maternity leave coincided with the show’s midseason break, allowing her to be absent for only a few episodes.
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