Laura Diamonds Blog
May 12th, 2014
It’s official. After years of breathless anticipation, Penny and Leonard of “The Big Bang Theory” finally got engaged Thursday night in an episode that was viewed by 15 million fans of the top-rated CBS comedy series.

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The Twittersphere exploded in excitement when Leonard pulled a diamond engagement ring from his wallet and proposed to Penny in an episode called “The Gorilla Dissolution.”

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“Where did you get a ring?” asked Penny, played by Kaley Cuoco.

“Umm, I've had it for a couple years. Not important,” said Leonard, the nerdy physicist played by Johnny Galecki. “Penny, will you marry me?”

“Oh, my God. Yes!"

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Leonard placed a classic white-metal ring on Penny’s finger and the couple embraced. The ring appeared to have a round center stone accented by two or three smaller diamonds on each side. The long-awaited engagement, which came after many years of dating and four rejected proposals between them, puts an exclamation point on the popular series, which is just about to complete its seventh season.

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In the episode, the aspiring actress gets fired from her role as a go-go dancer and realizes that it’s time to start thinking seriously about her future.

“I need to start making some smart decisions,” Penny said.

But Leonard wonders out loud if her new interest in settling down with him is simply a “smart” decision, somewhat like choosing a healthy bran muffin over an exciting diabetes-inducing strawberry Pop-Tart. When he presses her on what she really needs, she says, “You, you stupid Pop-Tart!”

The past eight months have been a whirlwind of personal and professional milestones for Cuoco, who recently took home the 2014 People’s Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy Actress. In September 2013, she got engaged to boyfriend Ryan Sweeting and tied the knot a few months later on New Year’s Eve.


Cuoco’s real-life engagement ring features a halo design and 2.5 carat princess-cut center stone. After the wedding, she was photographed wearing the engagement ring complemented by twin wedding bands.

In an interesting twist, Galecki and Cuoco dated for two years while working on “The Big Bang Theory,” and broke up in December of 2009.

Will Penny and Leonard finally tie the knot? I guess we’ll have to wait for season eight to find out.

For those of you who missed “The Big Bang Theory” on Thursday night, here’s a clip of the memorable scene.