The Big Bang Theory: What Is Each Main Character's Body Count?
Even though the entire setup of Chuck Lorre's wildly popular sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" puts forward the idea that the four core men on the show — Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), and Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) — are socially inept nerds who repel women, they end up dating a fair number of different women between them on the series. Their friend (and Leonard's eventual wife) Penny, played by Kaley Cuoco, as well as Amy Farrah-Fowler (Mayim Bialik) and Bernadette Rostenkowski (Melissa Rauch) also have dating histories that are either shown or mentioned on the show. So what's each character's "body count," so to speak?
Though characters like Leonard and Penny date a lot of people throughout the show's twelve seasons, others — like Raj and Howard — aren't as lucky, though that's not for lack of trying. So how many people have each of the characters on "The Big Bang Theory" dated or slept with? Here's our comprehensive tally.
Howard wanted to be a womanizer but ended up settling down
Even though Howard Wolowitz initially wants nothing more than to be a major player, he ends up settling down before any of the other guys ... but his exploits are definitely memorable. Before marrying and having children with Bernadette, Howard hooks up with his coworker Leslie Winkle (Sara Gilbert), who's sort of a "friend with benefits," which ends poorly; after she puts a stop to their half-baked relationship, Raj and Leonard take Howard to Las Vegas and hire a sex worker named Mikalya (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe). At one point, Penny's old friend from Omaha, Christy Vanderbel (Brooke D'Orsay) comes to visit her, at which point she and Howard essentially defile Penny's apartment
Howard also references wild flings from his past, like a threesome he had with Raj and a girl in a Sailor Moon outfit that the two met at a convention as well as his cousin Jeanie (Kara Luiz, to whom he lost his virginity (she's his second cousin). Ultimately, Howard finds happiness with Bernadette, and the couple has two children: Halley and Michael.
Raj is terrified of women at first but eventually gets over his fears
At the beginning of "The Big Bang Theory," Raj Koothrappali has an interesting issue when it comes to women: he has what the series calls "selective mutism," but it's still made clear that he goes on dates and has one-night stands (largely with women who don't end up appearing on the show). There are a few women who don't go "all the way" with Raj, like his childhood crush Lalita Gupta (Sarayu Rao), Sheldon's sister Missy Cooper (Courtney Henggeler), or Summer Glau (the "Firefly" star plays herself in an episode). So who does Raj actually hook up with?
There's Dr. Elizabeth Plimpton (Judy Greer), who actually hits on pretty much all of the core guys in the show, and Emily (Katie Leclerc), a deaf friend of Penny's who actually ends up using Raj for his money (his parents are very wealthy). Raj also dates Lucy (Kate Micucci), a girl who's just as socially awkward and shy as he is, and though they go out for a while, they don't appear to consummate the relationship. Later in the series, Raj dates two women at once — Emily Sweeney (Laura Spencer), whom he meets on a dating website, and Claire (Alessandra Torresani), an artist he meets at the comic book store, but he ultimately does the right thing and breaks up with both women.
After a fling with Issabella (Maria Canals-Barrera), the cleaning woman in his office, and brief relationships with Bernadette's coworker Ruchi (Swati Kapila) and Nell (Beth Behrs) — who sees his planetarium show — Raj enters into an arranged engagement with Anu (Rati Gupta), a hotel concierge with whom he falls in love. When she moves to London, they split up, and Raj ends the series alone.
Leonard ends up getting the girl of his dreams
When Penny moves into the apartment across the hall from Leonard and Sheldon in the show's very first episode, Leonard is immediately smitten, remarking that his eventual children with his new neighbor will be "smart and beautiful." As fans of "The Big Bang Theory" know, Leonard's prediction comes true; he and Penny have an on-again, off-again relationship that plays a major role in the overall narrative, and during the series finale, Penny discovers that she's pregnant.
Besides his relationship with Penny, Leonard has flings and relationships with other women throughout "The Big Bang Theory." Like Raj, he also sleeps with Dr. Elizabeth Plimpton, and like Howard, he has a non-romantic sexual connection with Leslie Winkle. Leonard also had an ill-advised fling with a woman named Joyce Kim (Ally Maki), who turns out to be a North Korean spy trying to mine him for information, and also has a strange one-night stand with the wealthy Mrs. Latham (the late Jessica Walter). During one of his breaks from Penny, Leonard seriously dates Dr. Stephanie Barnett, but when she quietly moves into his apartment without discussing it with him first, the relationship ends — and Leonard's other serious relationship with someone who isn't Penny is with Raj's sister Priya. They ultimately split when Leonard very nearly cheats on Priya while they're in a long-distance relationship, only for Priya to admit that she did cheat, paving the way for Leonard and Penny to get married and stay together.
Bernadette only dates a few people before meeting Howard
Like Howard, Bernadette doesn't date a ton of people before the couple gets married, but one of her past partners end up appearing on "The Big Bang Theory" at pivotal moments. Bernadette, who works at the Cheesecake Factory with Penny while earning her Ph.D. in microbiology, at one point mentions that she lost her virginity to a guy who drove a Toyota Camry, but understandably, she doesn't provide any more information about that.
During the Season 4 episode "The Love Car Displacement," the whole gang travels to a symposium in San Francisco and run into Glenn (Rick Fox), Bernadette's ex-boyfriend who immediately makes Howard intensely jealous (partly because he's extremely tall). Glenn was also Bernadette's college professor and is at the symposium to present at a panel. Ultimately, the whole group ends up fighting, at which point a furious Penny says she wants to go home and Glenn offers to drive her, infuriating Leonard. All's well that ends well, though, and Howard and Bernadette end up being one of the show's sweetest couples.
Penny's romantic past is a frequent topic of conversation on The Big Bang Theory
Unfortunately for Penny, who is both beautiful and outgoing, her romantic past is constantly discussed by the show's other characters — especially Sheldon, who thinks that Penny has been sexually involved with too many people. (At one point, Sheldon uses statistics to decide that, outside of the men she's seen dating on the show, she has slept with 31 others.) The first boyfriend we meet is Kurt (Brian Patrick Wade), who cheats on Penny and steals her television set (Leonard goes to get it back and Kurt beats him up). We never meet TJ, with whom Penny has a brief relationship, but we do meet Doug (Allen Nabors), a guy she dates for a day and a half in the aftermath of Kurt. Penny has another short relationship with Mike (Andrew Walker), who posts intimate details about his sex life with Penny online.
Before she and Leonard get married, Penny does have a fairly lengthy relationship with Zack Johnson (Brian Thomas Smith), who's well-meaning but extremely dim-witted. After they break up, Penny and Zack remain somewhat friendly, and she and Leonard even consider the idea of Leonard being a sperm donor to help Zack and his wife have a child. In the end, though, Leonard and Penny conclude the series happily married with a baby on the way.
Sheldon and Amy don't have any romantic history with other people
When it comes to Sheldon and Amy, they only have eyes for each other — to the point where they're both virgins when they meet. Though Amy is ready to consummate their relationship shortly after they meet, Sheldon is, to put it lightly, hesitant about that prospect, often seeming disgusted and appalled by the idea of having an intimate relationship with anyone (it's not pointed in regards to Amy). To his credit, Sheldon consistently works to become more comfortable with the idea of physical intimacy, and in the Season 9 episode "The Opening Night Excitation," Sheldon's friends all convince him that the best thing he could do for his relationship with Amy is instigate sex. Not only does Sheldon seduce Amy, but he does so on the opening night of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," proving he really loves her.
Intimacy is definitely really difficult for Sheldon, but he makes an effort with Amy ... even though we ultimately learn that they only have sex once a year. Still, in "Young Sheldon," we also learn that the two have children, so maybe Sheldon eventually agrees to ease up on his strict schedule.