The Secret Marriage You Never Noticed On The Big Bang Theory
For a show about a group of stereotypically socially awkward dweebs, The Big Bang Theory features quite a few weddings. By the end of the series' 12 seasons, Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Amy (Mayim Bialik), Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Penny (Kaley Cuoco), and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) and Howard (Simon Helberg) all tied the knot. There's also another wedding of a supporting (but fairly important) character that the writers of the show attempted to slip right under our noses.
Reddit user ImMabin123 was binge-watching some episodes of The Big Bang Theory when a throwaway line made them realize that a character from the earlier seasons of the show got hitched off-screen. The character in question is Priya (Aarti Mann), the sister of Raj (Kunal Nayyar) and ex-girlfriend of Leonard. Although she wasn't seen on the show past the fifth season, Priya's romantic relationship with Leonard made her a pretty pivotal character during her time on the series.
We're going to break down the clue that gave the wedding away, as well as try and figure out exactly who Priya married.
Raj's father casually reveals that Priya got married
In the post that started the Reddit discussion about Priya's marriage, user ImMabin123 pointed to a scene in the season 10 episode "The Allowance Evaporation." The main storyline of the episode centers on Raj and his relationship with his father. More specifically, Raj's father cuts him off financially, causing the astrophysicist to face the fact that he'll have to make some major lifestyle changes now that he doesn't have help paying his bills. This leads to the marriage revelation.
As ImMabin123 noticed, at one point, Raj's father decries that of his six children, Raj is the only one who isn't married. Even though it's not explicitly stated, this means that Raj's sister Priya got hitched at some point between the last time we saw her and that conversation. It's a pretty casual way to drop that big news for a character who, at one point, was a pretty important part of the show. It also feels a little strange that we don't get more of a reaction from Leonard about the revelation, especially considering the history of their complicated relationship.
Priya and Leonard had a proper relationship, but we never see him react to her marriage
Priya and Leonard began dating in the show's fourth season, after Penny broke up with Leonard toward the end of season 3. The two do, however, have a history that started before they officially became a couple. Several years before the start of the series, they met and slept with each other despite Raj's disapproval. It wasn't until season 4 episode "The Cohabitation Formulation," however, that Priyard (Leonya?) was born.
Their relationship is intense, and not without its hiccups. One of the biggest issues they face early on is the continued presence of Penny in Leonard's life. At one point, Priya asks Leonard to stop spending so much time with his ex-girlfriend, which further causes tension. After enough time has passed, though, Priya and Penny become friendlier toward one another.
Ultimately, the relationship comes to an end because Priya is having trouble reconciling her feelings for Leonard with the fact that she knows her parents won't approve of the relationship. She returns to India, and continues to carry on a long-distance relationship with Leonard until both parties reveal that they had brief affairs. After that, we don't see Priya again.
Considering their long history with each other, and the fact that Priya is one of the only women other than Penny with whom we've seen Leonard have a full-blown relationship, it feels strange that the news of her marriage wasn't a bigger deal ... especially considering to whom she theoretically got married.
The theory about who exactly is Priya's husband
When the news of Priya's marriage dropped, we sadly never really got a follow-up, which means that we don't know to whom she got married. In the grand scheme of the show, this doesn't really matter too much, but we're nosy, and if you've read this far, we're assuming you are, too. Thankfully, one intuitive Reddit user has a theory about exactly who Priya's husband might be.
During the Reddit discussion about Priya's low-key marriage announcement, user MissKayBella posited, "Well she did cheat on Leonard with her ex when she went back to India so my assumption was that she married him." Priya indeed admitting to sleeping with an ex after Leonard told her that he'd had a kiss with a woman he met in LA, which is what caused them to break up. While the ex in question could be anybody, Priya did make mention of an old boyfriend named Sanjay at a previous point in the series.
This is all pure speculation, but it does seem entirely possible that Sanjay is the person who Priya later married. It's hardly the biggest plot hole the show has had, but we're glad to have some closure, regardless.