Kaley Cuoco talks falling for ‘Big Bang Theory’ costar Johnny Galecki

Kaley Cuoco divulged details of her on-screen and off-screen romance with co-star Johnny Galecki with Vanity Fair.

Cuoco and Galecki starred in the long-running CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory as Penny and Leonard. Their characters were love interests throughout the show, culminating in their marriage in season 10. In real life, the duo dated from 2008 to 2010.

“I was so not even hiding it,” she said in an exclusive excerpt from The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series shared with Vanity Fair. “He has such swagger. We were both dating people at the time, but I only had eyes for Johnny. Then, when I found out he had eyes for me too, I was like, Uh‑oh, this is going to be trouble.”

However, Galecki was still oblivious to Cuoco’s feelings towards him. “I have a healthy ego, but you really have to kind of club me over the head to let me know you’re flirting with me. I had zero idea of any sort of crush before Kaley and I began dating.”

Cuoco maintained that there was chemistry between the pair before it even formulated into something and that reflected on-screen.

“All the scenes up until we actually got together in real life, it was obvious there was always something there. There was chemistry and we were crushing on each other. That was the whole first season until we actually got together for real.”

In fact, the pair’s on-screen kiss was their first one during the Halloween episode. “I knew I looked real cute in that outfit, so I was feeling really good about myself,” Cuoco laughs. “And I knew he thought I looked cute because he commented on how cute I looked in that outfit earlier. But I was definitely nervous before that kiss."

“I mean, Kaley Cuoco as a kitty cat? Come on!” Galecki chimes in.

That said, Cuoco continued, “I was very nervous with both [our onscreen and real-life first kisses]. I mean, I was kissing him as Penny before we ever dated, and it’s weird when you have a crush on someone and you're kissing them as actors.”

The actors finally gave into their feelings on 14th episode of season 1, ‘The Nerdvana Annihilation,’ during a dream sequence when Leonard saves Penny in an elevator shaft, even though filming the scene was not an enjoyable experience. But Cuoco recalls that she thinks they “fell a little in love in that elevator shaft.”

Galecki agreed, “We felt something, yeah. I think that was a massive turning point [in our relationship]. At that point, both she and I knew that something mutual was felt, and that it was going to be more of a distraction from the work to try and continue to ignore it than to actually recognise it and surrender to it.”

Cuoco is currently dating Tom Pelphrey, whereas Johnny Galecki recently split with girlfriend Alaina Meyer with whom he shares one-year-old son, Avery.