At long last! Finally, three years after Kaley Cuoco revealed that she had a secret, two-year relationship with Big Bang Theory costar Johnny Galecki, the 38-year-old is opening up about the romance. And yes, the two are still close.
“We’re dear friends, still. Kaley’s not just an ex, she’s a part of my life,” Galecki tells the December issue of CBS Watch! magazine. So, why has he never mentioned their past before? “I just don’t like to speak about it. And not because I’m trying to be enigmatic; I just worry that it will conflict with people’s acceptance of Leonard and Penny,” he says of the pair’s TV characters on the Big Bang Theory. “I get the curiosity, but I don’t want to distract from the story.”
Galecki and Cuoco have starred in the CBS comedy together since 2007. Three years into the series, Cuoco opened up about their relationship for the first time with CBS Watch! magazine in September 2010. “We dated for almost two years. It was such a huge part of my life and no one knew about it,” Cuoco revealed. “This is the first time I’ve ever talked about it, ever. It was a wonderful relationship, but we never spoke a word about it and never went anywhere together.”
“[We were] so protective of ourselves and the show, and we didn’t want anything to ruin that,” she continued. Unfortunately, Cuoco admitted keeping so tight-lipped eventually took a toll on their relationship.
“We knew we weren’t destined to be together. We accepted it and said, ‘Look, if we ever break up, we will be professional,'” she recalled. “I’m so lucky it was a mutual ending and that we don’t hate each other. We’ve seen that happen on other shows.”
Since the shocking reveal, both actors have stepped out publicly with new romances. Us Weekly exclusively broke news about Cuoco’s engagement to tennis player Ryan Sweeting after three months of dating in September this year. Days earlier, the couple attended — and sat right next to — Galecki and his girlfriend Kelli Garner at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards. Galecki and the former Pan Am star first debuted as a couple in March 2012.