‘The Big Bang Theory’ Star Johnny Galecki Reveals Kaley Cuoco’s Cunning First Attempt at Flirting With Him

The Big Bang Theory co-stars Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco opened up about their past relationship in a new book — The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series — and in one portion Galecki reveals Cuoco’s cunning first attempt at flirting with him. In an excerpt published by the NY Post, author Jessica Radloff spills the beans, writing, “She tried to have him come over in the middle of the night to kill a bug.”

Recalling the moment, Galecki said, “So I declined the demand to go kill a bug in her room. But apart from the bug, I smelled a rat and was thinking, ‘Is this your way of inviting me into your hotel room basically?’” Cuoco admitted to the author her motives were twofold. Cuoco defended herself by explaining that “there was definitely a bug in my room,” but then adding, “and I was flirting with him!” Galecki and Cuoco dated for about two years, from around 2007 to 2009.

In a previously released excerpt, shared by Vanity Fair, Cuoco and Galecki opened up about both their on and off-screen relationships, including the moment that stars began to fall for one another. “It was not an enjoyable experience for me,” Cuoco quipped, speaking about “The Nerdvana Annihilation.” In the 2008 Big Bang Theory episode, Galecki’s Leonard Hofstadter saves Cuoco’s Penny in an elevator shaft during a dream sequence. 

The pair wind up embracing face-to-face, which lasted for quite a while during filming. “We had to be in each other’s arms — and for quite some time, because it was a bit of a stunt that we were doing. It was a whole thing,” Galecki said. Cuoco interjected, “I think we fell a little in love in that elevator shaft.”

Galecki then added, “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 recognize it and surrender to it.”

“I was like, Uh‑oh. I was crushing so hard on him,” Cuoco confessed. “So much so that I was like, Get me out of here, because he had to hold me up and we had to do this really close thing. Even my cheeks were really red. I was super nervous and kept thinking, ‘Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.’ I was just a nervous wreck being that close to him in the moment.” The former partners remain close friends to this day.