‘Big Bang Theory’ Fans Can’t Believe Melissa Rauch Kept Her Pregnancy a Secret

Former The Big Bang Theory star Melissa Rauch revealed on Twitter Monday that she and husband, writer Winston Rauch, welcomed their second child, son Brooks. Rauch kept her pregnancy a complete surprise to fans, which made Monday’s announcement even more shocking. The couple previously welcomed daughter Sadie in December 2017.

Rauch, 39, shared a photo of a small blue cap with the name Brooks stitched onto it. She added a long statement, thanking the “front line heroes,” including doctors and nurses, who helped bring Brooks into the world during the coronavirus pandemic. “Words can’t describe how grateful I am to have this baby boy join our family, but to say that it is a surreal time to be bringing life into the world is an understatement,” she wrote. “Given that, I wanted to share some thoughts with other expectant mothers or ‘Pandemamamas’ – as I like to call us – who are navigating these uncharted waters.”

“Please go to the link in my bio to check out the essay I wrote on the subject for Glamour,” Rauch continued. “As I’ve previously shared, I am no stranger to loss on the road to motherhood – so to those dealing with infertility or grieving a loss, please know you are in my heart and I’m sending you so much love.” She added a heart emoji at the end.

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On Monday, Rauch published a Glamour essay about giving birth during the coronavirus pandemic. She revealed that several plans and backup plans fell through, like inviting her family to come and meet her new baby. She said she was worried she would be alone while in labor, because Winston would not be allowed in the delivery room. But then she realized she had a partner – the baby she was about to give birth to.

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“I know that may sound odd to some, and you may be an expectant mama thinking, ‘Screw you, Rauch, an unborn baby isn’t a birthing partner! I want someone to scream things like, ‘F you for getting me into this’ at while they’re spoon-feeding me ice chips. Take your hippie-dippie granola thoughts and shove them!’” Rauch wrote. “And that’s fair. I hear you. But, nonetheless, it somehow helped me. I found comfort in the idea that this would be our first adventure together.”

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At the end of her essay, Rauch reminded other mothers going through the same situation they are not alone. “All of us ‘pandemamamas,’ as I like to call us, are in this together,” she wrote. “Just as I reminded myself, you can do this, you will do this, and you will do so with the fierceness of all the powerful warrior women before you who have brought life — and hope — into this world during the most unfathomable of times. As I look into my son’s eyes, I am filled with that hope. And dreams of dropping him at the mall, where, if he so desires, I will happily park as far away as possible.”

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Rauch is best known for playing Bernadette on The Big Bang Theory. She recently starred in Steven Soderbergh’s Netflix movie The Laundromat. Her other credits include Ice Age: Collision Course, Are You Here and Kath & Kim.

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