On The Big Bang Theory, there were a few funny and quirky pairs, and one of them was the Howard and Bernadette duo, which also introduced a smart blonde character: along with Penny, Bernadette helped break down the stereotypes of chauvinistic jokes. Melissa Rauch played this character for eight seasons, and she grew particularly fond of an item, which, of course, isn’t worn on the heart, but on the nose: she actually took Bernadette’s signature glasses from the set. But don’t worry—she got permission to keep them.
Slashfilm recalled a previous article from Showbiz CheatSheet, in which Rauch’s cheeky act of "stealing" is discussed. Showbiz spoke to the actress after The Big Bang Theory ended. Naturally, after so many years spent on the sitcom, the star took away not just physical items but also memories and experiences, as those years dedicated to the show would stay with her for the rest of her life. But of course, she also took home some props, one of which was Bernadette’s glasses, which she considered a souvenir. Although she initially planned to return them, lead producer Steve Molaro told her to just keep them. The actress also shared where she stores this memento, not only for herself but for her children, to eventually pass it down as a legacy when the time comes:
"I remember how happy I was when I found out I could take them home with me, so I put them in a special box. I realized, while we were filming the last scene, that, oh, I’m going to use this voice I developed for the character for the last time. It definitely felt like saying goodbye to a friend. I’ll always remember that moment of realization when it hit me that I was saying goodbye to the character. I’ve always said that I see Bernadette as a sister in many ways, because in some respects, she was a few steps ahead of me in life. But I hope that now she and Howard are somewhere with the kids, surviving the pandemic."
By the way, the actress revealed that the prop glasses are, of course, useless because they don’t have lenses, so they were really only good for making the character look smarter. The glasses were especially dear to her because she came up with the idea for Bernadette to wear them. She actually wore them to the audition, even though the script didn’t specify whether the character had such a feature. Rauch felt that the character needed something extra, something that would make her performance stand out at the audition compared to the other candidates. She put the prop glasses on just for that reason, keeping them in her car specifically for auditions, and her strategy paid off: the casting directors were convinced, and they thought it was a great idea for Bernadette to wear glasses. She got the role.
