Despite being a late addition to Jim Parsons’ The Big Bang Theory, Melissa Rauch’s Bernadette Rostenkowski soon became a favorite among fans of the sitcom. However, for a major portion of the penultimate season of the sitcom, her character was put on bed rest, which was a cause of the actress’ real-life pregnancy.
Reflecting on the Night Court star’s pregnancy at the time, Parsons made a light joke about seeing his costar for the first time on the set of season 11.
Jim Parsons on Seeing Melissa Rauch’s Baby Bump in Season 11
Recounting meeting his costars on the set of season 11, Jim Parsons recalled there was no drastic change in the rest of the cast’s appearance, as almost everyone “looked basically the same”. But there was one exception, Melissa Rauch, who was in her final trimester of pregnancy.
Speaking of Rauch’s baby bump, Parsons joked that seeing her felt like “she overate” following her small stature, as the actress stands at 4.9 ft.
He told Jimmy Kimmel:
Everyone looked basically the same… no, we have one pregnant cast member…Melissa, which I’m very happy about… She’s so tiny this was like she overate
Later that year, Rauch took to her Instagram to announce that she and her husband Winston Beigel welcomed their daughter, named Sadie Rauch. A couple of years later, she would once again announce that they’ve welcomed a son, named Brooks Rauch.
Melissa Rauch on Her Pregnancies Throughout Her Stint in TBBT
Prior to welcoming her first kid, Rauch suffered an unfortunate miscarriage, which she deemed “one of the most profound sorrows I have ever felt in my life”. She shared:
You’re not necessarily going to a funeral or taking time off from work to mourn, but that doesn’t change the fact that something precious has been unexpectedly taken from your life
Later reflecting on her pregnancies throughout her tenure in the show, she joked that it felt like “I was pregnant for like 900 years.” During her appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she said:
It might be a real medical thing cause I was pregnant on the show, there was pregnancy in real life, and then pregnant on the show again. So I was always wearing some form of bum to the point where like I don’t know where to put my hands anymore.
But despite her real-life struggles, Rauch didn’t let it hinder her stint in the sitcom, and the actress’ onscreen partner even deemed her one of the hearts of the show.
The Big Bang Theory is available to stream on Max.
