Why The Big Bang Theory's Bernadette Is Better Than Leslie, According To Simon Helberg

Once Howard Wolowitz, the main character played by Simon Helberg on "The Big Bang Theory," manages to grow up a little bit, he happily settles down with Bernadette Rostenkowski, a microbiologist played by Melissa Rauch. Before that, though, Howard and his friend Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) both date the same woman ... a fellow scientist who works with them at the California Institute of Technology named Leslie Winkle, played by Galecki's former "Roseanne" co-star Sara Gilbert. So what did Helberg think of his character's fling with Leslie?

In a 2011 interview with Smashing Interviews Magazine about the release of his independent film "I Am I," Helberg was asked about Howard's relationship with the distinctly voiced Bernadette and whether he thought the chemistry between the two characters was better than, say, Howard's connection with Leslie. As Helberg put it, Leslie was just a bit too blunt for the group — not just Howard and Leonard, but Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar).

"I think Leslie was a different character and they tried to see how she played with different dynamics — her bullying Sheldon, or her with Howard or Leonard," Helberg said in the interview. "They were all interesting. It's so amazing to see the difference of each subtlety within a person and how it affects the entire group dynamics. It's hard to bring somebody into a group of five people that will work independently and with the entire group and with each combination of that group." Shortly thereafter, Helberg also weighed in on exactly why Bernadette's character — and Rauch herself — worked so well on "The Big Bang Theory," but first, how did Gilbert get involved with "The Big Bang Theory" at all, and how did the creative team come up with the character of Leslie Winkle?

In Jessica Radloff's 2022 book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," which brought the cast and crew of the show together to discuss its history and legacy, a handful of creatives — including the original showrunner and co-creator Chuck Lorre — weighed in on Sara Gilbert's casting. As Lorre put it, he was just a fan of "Roseanne," and based on Gilbert's performance on that show, he knew she'd be perfect as the sardonic, tough Leslie, though he focused more on her relationship with Leonard than her dalliances with Howard (during which she often manipulates him by giving him access to data and research just to keep him around).

"I was just a fan of them and we wanted to work with them," Lorre said regarding his decision to pair Gilbert with Johnny Galecki. "When you're writing a part, say, for a love interest for Leonard, and you want Leonard to perhaps be dating a scientist who is as good as or better than him, and was a prickly character, you think, 'Hmmm, who do we know?' And Sara was wonderful.

Still, as writer, executive producer, and eventual showrunner Steve Molaro put it, Leslie was probably never supposed to stick around ... because Leonard was destined to be with Kaley Cuoco's lead character Penny. "We wanted love interests for Leonard and we were just looking for stories," Molaro revealed. He continued:

"It was also a great way to add female scientists, because Leslie was at the university as well. And Chuck had a history with Sara from 'Roseanne.' But we were never looking for a permanent, everlasting relationship for Leonard because we always thought he would date Penny on and off. We weren't looking to find a permanent girlfriend for him. We were adding characters and seeing what worked and what was leading to fun stories."

"We tried a couple of women in love interest roles, social-interest roles, before we came up with Amy Farrah Fowler and Bernadette Rostenkowski, and Leslie Winkle was one of them," executive producer and other eventual showrunner Lee Aronsohn confirmed, talking about Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch's characters who both eventually became main cast members. "We were realizing that if we wanted the show to have longevity, we had to enlarge the family."

At the end of the day, everything worked out for the best. Howard got paired with Bernadette, who genuinely helps his character become a better and kinder person; after starting the series as a would-be womanizer who's actually just an enormous creep, Howard leaves all that behind after he and Bernadette get married and have a family. As Simon Helberg went on to say in Smashing Interviews Magazine, the connection between Howard and Bernadette is simply too good, and Helberg also said that she just meshed with the rest of the characters.

"I think it's worked out beautifully with Bernadette," Helberg said at the time. "They found an amazing dynamic that fit that brought out kind of a vulnerable human side in Howard's character. She can also be Penny's friend and react off of Mayim Bialik's character [Amy Farrah Fowler]. She reacts with the other guys and also the three girls can be put together."

In fact, if you ask Helberg, adding Bernadette and Amy into the mix made the show better to the point where it added a whole new layer. "They really found something that almost added another show to this and opened up more writing possibilities," he continued. "I love being able to have some humanity in Howard and to see him grow. These guys are pretty steadfast in their ways and beliefs and it's nice to see some growth. I love it."

Helberg is exactly right: Howard really evolves in his relationship with Bernadette and becomes a genuinely lovable character in his own right. If you want to track Howard's entire romantic history and his personal growth, you can stream "The Big Bang Theory" on Max now.