Tragic Details About Johnny Galecki

Johnny Galecki has had quite a career, starting out in the late '80s with a starring role in "Christmas Vacation." From there, he found a recurring part on "Roseanne." Suddenly, he was a sitcom star, growing up as a teenager in living rooms across the country as the quirky but endearing David Healy, the boyfriend of Darlene Conner (Sara Gilbert). Galecki is probably best known these days for "The Big Bang Theory," where he was infamous for breaking others on the set. There, he played Leonard, who winds up marrying his good friend Penny (Kaley Cuoco). 

Between "Roseanne" and "The Big Bang Theory" alone, Galecki has nearly two decades as a sitcom superstar — and on both shows, he wound up dating his romantic co-star. It hasn't always been happiness and on-screen love affairs for Galecki, however. On multiple occasions, he's struggled with his own tragic life. From his early days as a nearly-homeless teen to a fire that burned down his home, he's faced all manner of challenges. Nevertheless, Galecki has thrived on screen and off. But you still might be surprised by some of the challenges he's had to deal with, many of the same kinds of problems that everyone faces, and even a few that we wouldn't wish on our worst enemies.

Though he'll forever be remembered as the super-geek Leonard, Johnny Galecki has mostly left Hollywood and is much more than the characters he's played, with a rich life that's a varied canvas of ups and downs. We'll save the "ups" for another time — in the meantime, read all the tragic details about "The Big Bang Theory" star.

In "The Big Bang Theory," Galecki plays a man with a PhD, a science-minded geek who prizes education and learning above (almost) anything else. As it turns out, it's quite the acting job for Galecki, because in real life, he never went to college or earned a degree, and in fact, never even graduated high school. Even more surprising, though, is that he didn't even complete a single day of high school before abandoning his pursuit of education.

"I quit school in the middle of eighth grade," Galecki sheepishly admitted in an interview with Time Out New York. "I went to high school one day. It was a half day. Just really didn't think it was for me." That's right, before even finishing out his first day of high school, Galecki called it quits, the culmination of a lifetime of despising classroom education. "In Chicago Public Schools, I could hide in the back of the class all day long in a class of 40-some kids," he explained. "Once long division came up in third grade, I'd go to the bathroom for 45 minutes and nobody raised an eyebrow."

But don't think that Galecki didn't get an education just because he quit public schools. After moving to Hollywood, the young actor got his education through at-home learning, which proved far better for him than sitting in a classroom and avoiding math. "Even if it's only for three hours a day in a mobile home on a [movie] set, you can't hide in the back of the class," he said.

Growing up in Chicago, a young Johnny Galecki was pursuing a life on the stage when he got the opportunity to audition for a major Hollywood movie, "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." Against all odds, Galecki — who had almost no on-screen experience — was given a starring role, stepping in to play Rusty Griswold, a part previously played by Anthony Michael Hall in "Vacation." During production of the film, Galecki's family threw their support behind him and relocated to Los Angeles to help their son pursue a career in acting. Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned.

"My whole family moved out [to Los Angeles]," Galecki told The AV Club in a 2010 interview. "About nine months in, we all decided that we didn't like it at all. So they decided to move back to Chicago, and, in the meantime, I ended up getting a steady job, so I stayed. It was supposed to be for about three weeks. That was 20 years ago." At just 14 years old, Galecki found himself all alone in Hollywood, and he wound up living in the same apartment complex as Jennifer Love Hewitt, which later helped him get a role in "I Know What You Did Last Summer." But growing up by himself in a big city wasn't always so easy.

"It wasn't fun at all," Galecki admitted. "It was actually quite intimidating and lonely, to be honest. But I've always been happiest when I'm working, so ... My family and friends, for good or ill, are very privy to that. For good when I'm working, for ill when I'm not."

Today, Johnny Galecki is remembered as one of TV's bigger sitcom stars, with two major hits on his resume in "Roseanne" and "The Big Bang Theory." But the actor's early career, before hitting it big, was anything but easy, with a series of failures that might have made less-determined young thespians turn around and go home. This included a failed 1987 TV pilot called "Time Out for Dad" with Dick Butkus that Galecki admits was atrocious. "In fact, it was s***-poor. But I learned a lot from doing it, and I think it was NBC's tax write-off for the season," he told The AV Club.

Movie flops like "A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon" and "Prancer," and the mostly-forgotten TV miniseries "Blind Faith" followed, none of which earned him much attention. So many failures would frustrate any actor starting out, but being a teenager alone in Hollywood made it especially tough. "I never felt like much of an Angeleno," Galecki told Architectural Digest in 2024, admitting that he never quite fit in alongside the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. "And I did try. I say that with sadness, not with snobbery. Thirty years is just a very long time to live in a city that you're not all that comfortable in." 

Eventually, though, Galecki's perseverance paid off with a guest spot on "Roseanne" that led to his first major recurring role. "When I was 15 or 16, I did a television movie with Roseanne," he told Time Out New York. "She took a liking to me and had me on her show."

Johnny Galecki finally got his big break on "Roseanne," playing the lovable David Healy for five seasons until the show came to a close in 1997. You might think that, following the show's conclusion, Hollywood producers would have been lining up to secure Galecki's services, but that wasn't the case at all. As it happens, Galecki actually struggled both personally and professionally in the aftermath of the show's final episode.

"When we finished on 'Roseanne,' I was very rudderless afterwards. Granted, I was much younger then, too. I don't know, dread is a strong word, but there's definitely a lot of reluctance," Galecki said in a chat with Us Weekly. Rather than go back to starring in another TV series, though, Galecki went to the movies, with roles in several flops like "Suicide Kings," "Morgan's Ferry," and "The Opposite of Sex." But only "I Know What You Did Last Summer" proved successful or memorable. His subsequent attempts to return to television also didn't work out, with short-lived guest roles in "Norm" and "Hope & Faith" doing little to resuscitate his sagging career. Meanwhile, an American remake of the British classic "Peep Show" was so poorly received that it never made it to air.

In hindsight, however, his post-"Roseanne" blues were probably a good thing. Because any of those roles had worked out, he might never have been cast in "The Big Bang Theory."

It's not uncommon for actors to find romance on the set of a movie or TV show. After all, spending long hours, day after day, on a production can even lead to lifetime friendships. During production of "The Big Bang Theory," though, stars Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco (who once wanted a "Friends" cameo) began a romantic relationship, born out of their incredible on- and off-screen chemistry.

"All the scenes up until we actually got together in real life, it was obvious there was always something there," Cuoco told Vanity Fair. "There was chemistry, and we were crushing on each other. That was the whole first season until we actually got together for real." But Galecki was nervous about their burgeoning, real-life relationship, and the pair took efforts to hide it from producers and staff. According to Cuoco, Galecki was even more nervous about how viewers of the show might react to them dating.

"Johnny was very worried about ruining the fans' outlook on Leonard and Penny, because they weren't even dating yet at that point in the series," Cuoco said. "He was very protective of what the fans would think, because we wanted them to want Leonard and Penny together so badly, that if they saw us together in real life, it could ruin the fantasy."

Eventually, the reality of their relationship began making it hard to keep it a secret, as the pair were spending most of their off-hours together, and eventually, the cat got out of the bag. 

While filming on "The Big Bang Theory" continued, Johnny Galecki and co-star Kaley Cuoco's secret relationship had its ups and downs, from the pair being nearly caught kissing by series creator Chuck Lorre to being found together at Galecki's home in the early morning. But the scariest moment during their relationship happened while taking a ride on Cuoco's Vespa, which ended in a tragic accident that nearly took Galecki's life.

In an interview with Maxim Magazine (via Digital Spy), Cuoco acknowledged that she's an awful driver, noting, "I've had so many [accidents], I can't even count." Well, that bad luck spilled onto Galecki during a drive overseas.[One] time I was driving a Vespa in the Dominican Republic with my castmate Johnny Galecki on the back like a little b***," Cuoco recounted. "I ran us right into the wall, and he went flying. I almost killed Johnny Galecki. I'm dead serious."

As surprising as it may sound, Cuoco kept mum about the incident. Producers and staff at "The Big Bang Theory" didn't even know about her penchant for wild rides. "I don't think the producers realize how much trouble I've been getting into," she said. Getting one of their biggest stars killed, however, would probably have been their wake-up call.

It's not uncommon for a longtime TV star to depart a series midway through production (and many have lived to regret quitting the show). While Johnny Galecki stuck with "The Big Bang Theory" through all 12 seasons of the series, there was a time early in its run when he thought he would have to exit after suffering a mysterious malady that he believed was a serious and debilitating stroke.

It happened during the show's hiatus between Seasons 3 and 4, when Galecki woke up to a horrific sight. The actor recounted the frightening incident in the book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series" (relayed by our sister site, /Film). "I was at my sister's house in Chicago and kept getting teary out of my right eye," he said. "I was also drooling, and one side of my face was entirely drooping. I thought I had had a mini-stroke." 

Galecki was immediately rushed to the hospital, certain that he had permanently paralyzed half his body. He was so terrified that he would never recover, in fact, that he offered to help series creator Chuck Lorre find his replacement. "I said, 'I'm going to help you recast my role, and I would love [it] if you would also consider me for a staff writing position on the show,'" he recalled.

In the end, it turned out that Galecki was suffering from Bell's Palsy, from which he made a full recovery.

The end of any relationship is hard, even if it's just a friendship, and a romantic breakup has been known to send many a person into a downward spiral. So just imagine for a moment if you will, two lovers who end their relationship, but still have to work on-camera as a couple — up to and including love scenes. Such was the case with Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco, who called it quits in 2009 during production of "The Big Bang Theory." And Galecki believes that writers and producers conspired to make their breakup even more difficult than it already was.

"When we broke up, obviously, it was a little sensitive for a minute," Kaley Cuoco said while appearing on The Armchair Expert podcast. As she tells it, the producers and writers suddenly began crafting stories that saw Leonard and Penny sharing the screen more than they had before, including intimate moments that made things awkward between them. "I remember those weeks that Chuck had written these episodes where all of a sudden our characters were like sleeping together every other second," she said.

Any suggestion that it may have been a coincidence — reasonable considering the characters were a couple on-screen — was immediately quashed by Cuoco. "Johnny and I would talk, I'm like, 'No, but I think he did that on purpose,'" she said. "I still believe he might've ... just to f*** with us." 

It can be easy to assume that the life of an actor (or any celebrity) is one of constant good fortune — good food, stylish clothes, fancy cars, and luxury living. And for many, that's probably the case, but even the biggest stars can have their share of personal tragedy. And while for Galecki that thankfully didn't mean losing a loved one, he did suffer a horrific loss in 2017 when his private ranch was burned to the ground.

As reported by Variety at the time, Galecki's home, located in San Luis Obispo, California, was consumed by a massive, 1,200-square-mile brush fire. With so much damage, Galecki was just one of many who suffered similar fates. "My heart goes out to all in the area who are also experiencing loss from this vicious fire, the threat of which we live with constantly," Galecki said in a statement shortly after the news broke. Remarkably, though, Galecki refused to let this get him down. Despite confirming that he lost the entire home and plenty of irreplaceable keepsakes, he insists he wouldn't let the situation ruin him. "You have to find the gallows humor in it," he told Extra while appearing at San Diego Comic-Con not long after the blaze.

Whether because of the fire or just his feeling of discontent in Southern California, though, Galecki left Los Angeles within a year of the blaze. He relocated to Nashville in 2018, where he now owns a gothic mansion that got a pricey remodel.

Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco ended their romantic relationship in 2009, and in subsequent years, the actor dated a number of other women, but he seems to prefer to keep his relationships relatively below the radar. He dated Kelli Garner in 2011, British singer Katie Waissel in 2014, and actress Ariella Nicole a year later. But in 2018, the then-43-year-old Johnny Galecki revealed that he'd found a more serious partner: then-21-year-old Alaina Meyer. 

Both Galecki and Meyer were very public about their relationship on social media, often posting about each other, including Meyer's visit to the "Big Bang Theory" set. Six months later, in March of 2019, though, Galecki made even more dramatic news when People Magazine reported that the couple was expecting a child. Before the end of the year, in December of 2019, the couple welcomed a baby boy they named Avery. Sadly, the pair were not meant to be, and just a year later, the couple called it quits.

The couple's breakup was revealed by People just days after celebrating their son's first birthday. "This has been the gnarliest year of my life, with the highest highs and the lowest lows," Meyer wrote on her Instagram. Since then, Galecki has kept the details of his romantic life private, only revealing on his social media in 2024 that he was now married to his second wife, Morgan Galecki, and that they'd recently welcomed a baby girl, while continuing to co-parent Avery.