Big Bang Theory's Melissa Rauch: Howard Can't Handle Two Mrs. Wolowitzes in His Life

There are long-distance relationships and then there's what The Big Bang Theory's Howard and Bernadette have.
"When one person's in space, that's basically the longest-distance relationship you can possibly have!" Melissa Rauch tells TVGuide.com. "They're going to put earthly relationships to shame."
Days after tying the knot with Bernadette (Rauch) in the Season 5 finale, Howard (Simon Helberg) fulfilled his lifelong dream by blasting off into space on a NASA mission — and he's still out there when Season 6 premieres Thursday (8/7c, CBS). That's not exactly the most ideal way to start a marriage, but Rauch doesn't mind.

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"All newlyweds go through an adjustment period," she says. "It's just that the stakes are even higher for them when they're the furthest [apart] you could be. But if any show should keep someone in space, it's ours. I like these episodes. They're learning to be a married couple, except they're also dealing with outer space in the mix."And if the great beyond isn't a big (no pun intended) enough obstacle, the newlyweds have their usual, overbearing thorn in their side: Howard's mom. Turns out, Howard never told his domineering mother that he and Bernadette are not going to be living with her before he jetted off, and Bernadette lets him have it via their Skype session in the premiere. "I don't exactly know how he thought he was going to get away with it, but I think he thought, 'I'll deal with it when I get back down to Earth,'" Rauch says. "She's very upset, but at the same time, when Bernadette married Howard, she definitely knew that she was marrying his mother too. That's a part of her that knows it's going to be very, very hard for him to move out and move on."Of course, it's not like Mrs. Wolowitz (voiced by Carol Ann Susi) — who will start dating Howard's dentist, Dr. Schneider (Ken Lerner) later this season — would dare to let her only child go. As seen in the sneak peek below, she guilt-trips Howard (over the phone, naturally) into staying with her, which won't go over well with Bernadette.