Some people might think it's not possible to be friends with your ex. But Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki have managed to prove those people wrong.
In fact, they're one of the friendliest exes in Hollywood.
Sit tight while we take a look back at how Kaley and Johnny first fell in love and how they stayed the closest of friends even after their romance didn't work out.
Let's turn back the clock to 2007, just as the Big Bang Theory was about to hit our screens for the first time.
Kaley and Johnny first met on the set of the iconic sitcom, in which they played love interests Penny and Leonard.
At the time, both Cuoco and Galecki were in relationships with other people, but that didn't stop them from developing a crush on each other.
When the actress found out that Johnny was interested in her too, she thought, "Uh‑oh, this is going to be trouble."
The pair explained that they really came to terms with their feelings for each other while filming the episode "The Nerdvana Annihilation" from season 1, in which Leonard imagines a superheroic rescue of Penny in an elevator shaft.
So, after accepting that they weren't able to ignore their connection, they both ended their respective relationships.
Soon, the two began dating, though they kept their relationship under wraps for a long time.
The pair continued to keep their relationship out of the public eye as much as they could, but unfortunately, after two years of dating, they called it quits. The relationship came to an end around 2009.
The couple explained that things didn't work out between them because they simply wanted different things.
Galecki shared, "It was a lot of fun to teach one another different things, but then when I came to wanting different things, that made things more complicated.
Cuoco added that their relationship just ran its course, saying,
and then we'd go back to one of our places together, and say, 'So how was your day? Simon was funny today, right?' And we'd laugh because we had no mystery."
The actress explained that they had been together for a long time, and they "really adored each other."
At the same time, they felt lucky because "there was no foul play" around their breakup.
Though she admitted that "there was some hurt there for a bit," it didn't take them long to go back to what they were before they were dating and be friends.
Just a few months after their split, Kaley and Johnny attended the 2010 People's Choice Awards alongside their Big Bang Theory co-stars when the show took home the award for 'favorite TV comedy.'
In September of that year, Cuoco opened up about her relationship with Galecki.
The actress spoke about having to keep their relationship under wraps for such a long time while they were still together.
Kaley admitted that people were always asking her why she denied their relationship, and it would put her in an uncomfortable position.
She'd ask herself, "Why am I denying this person that I love?'"
She added that the secrecy of their relationship contributed to their eventual breakup.
However, despite their breakup, she shared that she and Johnny are still on very good terms.
Considering how co-star splits among Hollywood actors have often turned quite nasty, she felt grateful that they didn't hate each other and were able to maintain their friendship.
In a 2013 interview, Galecki shared those same sentiments while speaking about his relationship with Cuoco. In fact, he took it one step further by sharing that he doesn't see her as just an ex-girlfriend.
When Kaley married her first husband, Ryan Sweeting, at the end of 2013, Galecki was even invited to her wedding.
She went on to call Galecki one of her "closest friends," she added that the actor "was in the front row at her wedding, with a huge smile on his face.
Two years later, Kaley revealed that Johnny was very supportive of her marriage to Ryan.
During an appearance on 'Watch What Happens Live,' Cuoco spoke about Galecki when a fan asked if it's awkward to film scenes with him on The Big Bang Theory.
She added that he actually gets along really well with Sweeting, saying,
Following her divorce from Sweeting in October 2015, the actress sparked romance rumors with Galecki when they attended a launch party for the video game Fallout 4 together that October.
Adding that she and Johnny are just "the best of buds" and "Leonard and Penny will just have to suffice!!!"
Despite having broken up in real life, Cuoco and Galecki's on-screen romance continued to blossom, with their characters getting married in the season 9 premiere and then again in the season 10 premiere.
Cuoco later admitted that she felt like the show's creator, Chuck Lorre, purposely added more intimate scenes between their characters just to mess with them.
She explained, "When we broke up, obviously, it was a little sensitive for a minute, but
Kaley said that after speaking about it with Johnny, she had a feeling that Chuck had done it on purpose because of their breakup.
In an interview published in March 2016, Cuoco opened up about the ongoing speculation surrounding her relationship with Galecki,
noting that dating rumors were especially sensitive as she was dealing with her divorce from Sweeting.
When Kaley walked down the aisle for the second time with Karl Cook in 2018, she once again had the support of her ex.
Following the wedding, Galecki shared a sweet post on Instagram, writing, "Couldn't be happier for my fake wife … So much love for you both."
In November 2019, Galecki became a father after he and then-girlfriend Alaina Meyer welcomed a baby boy named Avery.
A few months later, Cuoco reacted to Galecki becoming a dad, noting that she couldn't wait to meet his newborn.
In November 2020, Galecki posted a sweet tribute to Cuoco in honor of her birthday.
He shared several pictures of them together with the humorous caption,
In 2021, almost two years after The Big Bang Theory came to a close, Cuoco opened up about her close bond with the cast.
She also touched on her relationship with Galecki, saying,
In October of 2022, the former couple opened up about their relationship, sharing never-before-told details about their romance and breakup.
They also expressed their continued love for each other after their split.
While we can't help but imagine what it would have been like if Kaley and Johnny had stayed together,
the fact that they stayed such good friends after breaking up is clearly a testament to their bond and respect for one another.
We're so happy that they've remained so close and have always been so supportive of one another.