The Big Bang Theory: 10 Things That Make No Sense About Howard & Bernadette’s Relationship

Howard Wolowitz and Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz are one of the hilarious couples on The Big Bang Theory but they deserve more credit than what they’re given. They’re the first couple on the show to accomplish major milestones. They were the first ones engaged, the first ones married, and the first ones to have children. As much of a womanizer as Howard used to be — in his dreams — he and Bernadette created a beautiful family life as a unit.

However, there were a few red flags that fans noticed over the years that didn’t make sense for the characters or the couple.

10 Was Bernadette Pregnant For How Long?

In the episode “The Valentino Submergence,” it’s Valentine’s Day and Bernadette finds out she’s pregnant and questions how to tell Howard. It’s assumed that Bernadette would be close to a month of pregnancy by the time she found out, which means she would have given birth around November. In the show, however, she gave birth in December; meaning she was pregnant for 10 months!

9 Howard DID Make A Move

After meeting on a blind date, Howard and Bernadette dated for a bit before taking a break and getting back together. When the two talk things over in season 4, Bernadette shames him for never making a move on her; she wasn’t sure if he was fully interested.

However in season 3’s “The Gorilla Experiment,” Howard did make a move. The two were in bed making out and he had trouble taking her bra off before they were interrupted by Leonard’s text. Was this a continuity error or did Bernadette forget how serious they were?

8 Bernadette Miscounted

In the episode “The 21-Second Excitation,” Bernadette, Penny, and Amy are having a girls’ night where their relationships are the topic of conversation. Bernadette tells the group that she “loves Howard’s chest hair.” The girls, of course, ask if Howard has a hairy chest and Bernadette says “No, just the one. But it’s really long.” As comical as this is, Bernadette seems to misremember her husband’s body.

In season 1’s “The Dumpling Paradox,” Howard exposes his chest while wearing Penny’s bathrobe and proves that he does have more than one strand of hair on his chest.

7 Does Bernadette Know Howard Like She Thinks She Does?

When Howard and Bernadette become parents, Bernadette becomes a little more snarky and resentful towards her husband. If anything, she becomes too cocky in her relationship and brags about “wearing the pants” in the household. In reality, it looks like Bernadette’s confidence was too high, as it turns out she doesn’t know her husband like she thinks she does.

In the fourth season, Bernadette noted that she turned down the opportunity to work on a heart disease venture because it wasn’t prevalent in her or Howard’s lives. Heart problems didn’t run in their families. (She opted for a premature ejaculation program instead.) However, in the foregoing episode, Howard told his friends that heart disease had a longstanding history in his family, which was a possibility as to why his mother was sent to the hospital.

6 Howard Had Reservations About Bernadette

When Howard and Bernadette first began dating, Howard took a step back from the relationship because he always assumed he’d be with someone who looked more like Angelina Jolie or Megan Fox. He liked Bernadette but wasn’t all in, which is why he turned to Glacinda the troll in World of Warcraft. Howard and Bernadette broke up after his disinterest became apparent.

Oddly enough, in “The Meemaw Materialization,” Bernadette claimed she had reservations about their relationship in the beginning, to which Howard agreed. But when Bernadette says “No you didn’t…” Howard agreed and changed course. But we all know the reason why they broke up is, in fact, because of Howard’s reservations.

5 Did Bernadette Lie About Her Mother On Their First Date?

On Bernadette and Howard’s first date, they bonded over their overbearing parents. Bernadette claimed her mother called her every minute of the day and still picked out her clothes for her even though she lived in her own apartment. This was music to Howard’s ears considering his mother acted similarly.

But the more viewers got to know Bernadette, the more it looked like she was lying. Bernadette’s mother was not involved in their lives and she never called Bernadette to check on her.

4 Howard’s Reaction To The Pregnancy

Due to Howard’s poor relationship with his father and overbearing relationship with his mother, he couldn’t wait to be a parent. He wanted to give his kids the childhood he never had. Unlike his dad, he was never going to abandon his children or his wife. When Howard found out that Bernadette was unsure whether she wanted kids or not, it was a gamechanger for him. He was willing to leave the relationship because he wanted kids that badly.

Oddly enough, as soon as he found out Bernadette was pregnant, he panicked! He left the house to be with his friends and freaked out about the future. This contradicted everything Howard ever wanted.

3 Was Bernadette Planning To Dump Howard?

In the episode “The Herb Garden Germination,” the friend group is confused when there’s a rumor circulating that Bernadette was contemplating breaking up with Howard. At this point, Bernadette was a strong member of the gang. She and Howard were also quite serious. Howard didn’t know about Bernadette’s trepidation and planned on proposing to her, which made everyone curious about what was going to happen to them.

When Howard finally did propose, they were stunned when Bernadette accepted. Crazy enough, the conversation about Bernadette’s hesitance was never spoken about again!

2 What Do They Really Have In Common?

Aside from their love for science, what did Bernadette and Howard have in common? She hated magic, role-playing, board games, and comic books. But those were all things that fulfilled Howard. Fans could say the same thing about Penny and Leonard but the two of them connected emotionally and communicated about deep issues within their relationship. Howard and Bernadette were different.

Bernadette was devastated when she found out Howard wouldn’t want to work in the same space as her and when he continued to choose Raj over their relationship. Was this because they had nothing to bond over at home?

1 Howard’s View On Fatherhood

Howard was excited about fatherhood until he realized he was about to become a father. The idea of having children was both exhilarating and nerve-wracking. Knowing this about him, it seems far-fetched that he would ever sell his sperm.

Why would Howard want children he didn’t know about when he already had daddy issues? But in “The Classified Materials Turbulence,” Raj asks Howard if he was “selling [his] sperm again.” If Howard did sell his sperm, this was most definitely not discussed with his wife.

About The Author

Lynn Gibbs
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Lynn is a nomad who travels the globe on the hunt for her next adventure with her husband. A lover of being outside (and finding the best latte in town), Lynn is typically hiking, walking, or jogging when she’s not focusing on her love of writing. When it comes to shows streaming on Netflix or anything Bravo-related, Lynn’s your gal.

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