Are The Big Bang Theory's Mayim Bialik And Kaley Cuoco Friends In Real Life?
At its heart, "The Big Bang Theory" is a show about friendship. That may sound like a counterintuitive description of a show that, on its surface, is about socially awkward nerds, but this contradiction is part of the point. As is reiterated at various points throughout the series, friendship is an important part of daily life even for mega-nerd Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and his likeminded companions. Among plenty of other notable friendships, the pairing of Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and Amy (Mayim Bialik) stands out as one of the show's most prominent. Though the two have a tenuous time getting to know each other when Amy is first introduced in Season 3, by the end of the series, they're as thick as thieves in spite of their many differences.
That said, some info that was circulated online suggests that the actors who play these two characters might not be as chummy as their on-screen counterparts. As it turns out, rumors swirled for years regarding a possible on-set feud between Cuoco and Bialik. Gossip websites such as Radar Online have used terms like "catfight" to describe their alleged conflict, which supposedly got so bad that the two once had to be separated from each other. Unfortunately for celebrity drama lovers, however, there's not much credence to these claims. In fact, it's be fair to say that Mayim Bialik and Kaley Cuoco sure seem to share a solid friendship in real life.
Rumors of Cuoco and Bialik's enmity are overblown
Truthfully, the best that can be said about the rumors of a feud between Kaley Cuoco and Mayim Bialik is that they're entertaining and at least somewhat plausible. They are not, however, entirely accurate. To be fair, it's not overly strange for cast members on a long-running series like "The Big Bang Theory" to develop some animosity between each other, especially when large sums of money are involved. Money, in fact, happens to be the cause of the rumor in question, which supposedly emerged due to a massive pay gap between the show's original and later cast members (via Geeks). More specifically, these rumors claim that Bialik made $100,000 an episode while Cuoco made $1,000,000, upsetting Bialik.
However, many of the articles that discuss these rumors list no real sources to back up their claims. Meanwhile, articles that characterize Cuoco and Bialik as friends cite much more credible sources. According to Variety, for example, Cuoco and her other original co-stars all took pay cuts in 2017 to increase the paychecks of both Bialik and Bernadette actor Melissa Rauch — though Cuoco and others still made much more at the end of the day.
Regardless of what does seem to be a significant pay gap between the two actors, it seems clear that they're friends. When Cuoco got married to her now ex-husband Karl Cook in 2018, Bialik was notably one of the few "Big Bang Theory" cast members to actually attend the ceremony (via TV Insider). Based on this fact alone, it's seems apparent that the two are closer than certain rumors suggest.
Firsthand sources suggest a friendship, while speculation suggests otherwise
Outside of mere speculation, Mayim Bialik herself once addressed the subject of her relationship with Kaley Cuoco firsthand. During a video interview with Wired, as part of a series in which participants are asked to answer some of the most often-searched questions about themselves, Bialik responded directly to whether or not she and Cuoco are friends. "Well, we worked together for nine years and I went to her wedding and celebrated things with her. I would say we're friends," Bialik said, punctuating her response with a toothy grin. Furthermore, Bialik and Cuoco both participated in a cast reunion in commemoration of the book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," chronicled by its author Jessica Radloff in an article published by Glamour.
While all of this information corroborates a friendship between the two actors, one key fact outside of their alleged feud suggests that Bialik and Cuoco may not be as close as they have publicly implied. Specifically, one Reddit user pointed out that Cuoco doesn't follow Bialik on Instagram, in spite of the fact that Bialik not only follows Cuoco but once tagged her in a photo.
In short, then, the rumored animosity between Bialik and Cuoco seems to be overblown. Nevertheless, the Instagram discrepancy suggests that a certain degree of tension could exist between the two actors, as can often be the case between two friends who don't necessarily see eye-to-eye but remain part of a broader social circle together.