Leonard and his mom Dr. Beverly Hofstadter had a complicated relationship on The Big Bang Theory. He blamed her for most of his insecurities as an adult due as she used his upbringing for research in the fields of neuroscience and psychiatry. This created distance and resentment towards the two of them as they matured.
In the 12th and final season, Leonard and Beverly came to a mutual understanding where they were ready for a new relationship, but it didn't come without hard work. The mother and son had some emotional moments in the series that left them on shaky ground.
Beverly Never Told Leonard About The Divorce
In the third season, Beverly traveled from New Jersey to see Leonard for Christmas. Despite the two having a rocky relationship, it was thoughtful of Beverly to make the trip. As always though, things south when Leonard found out that Sheldon knew more about Beverly's life than he did.
Thanks to Sheldon, Leonard found out that his parents were getting a divorce, his dog died, and that his mother had surgery. He realized that Beverly wasn't shy about her life; she just didn't have a connection with Leonard to share things with him. It was an underrated, emotional scene in The Big Bang Theory.
Beverly Was More Interested In Sheldon
There came a time in Leonard's life when he realized that Sheldon and his mother had a bond that he never got with her.
In the later seasons when Beverly tried to show interest in Leonard, Sheldon was bewildered by the thought and upset that he was losing her to Leonard. The ongoing battle for Beverly's attention is a storyline that continued to get better as the series went on.
Beverly Bragged About Leonard's Siblings In Front Of His Friends
In Beverly's first appearance, Leonard invited her to Caltech to show her some of the projects he was working on. In one of the funnier cafeteria scenes in The Big Bang Theory, Beverly spoke very highly of Leonard's siblings.
It's hard for Leonard to hear about his siblings' success stories, while his mother didn't give him the same sort of praise. It didn't help that Howard loved how uncomfortable Leonard was and kept asking more family-related questions as a joke.
Beverly Made Leonard's Wedding About Her & Albert
Beverly was not thrilled when Leonard and Penny got married because they didn't tell her about it until after the fact. To make up for their lack of effort and communication, the couple wanted to get re-married in front of their friends and family.
The only reason they were getting married again was because of Beverly, and sadly, she took that for granted. Once Beverly found out that Leonard invited his father to the wedding, she wanted to leave. She made the wedding weekend all about her after seeing her ex-husband, which made it stressful for the newlyweds.
Leonard Made Beverly The Villain In His Book
In the later seasons, Leonard wanted to branch out from his day job and get creative, so he wrote a novel. In it, there was an antagonist female named Elsa who intimidated and belittled the character Leonard identified with.
This led to some of The Big Bang Theory's most cringeworthy moments. After reading Leonard's draft, Bernadette felt that Elsa was inspired by Penny, and Penny felt that Elsa was inspired by Bernadette. In actuality, Leonard unintentionally designed Elsa after his overbearing, egotistical mother. Having his mother be the villain in his subconscious was unsettling news to handle.
Beverly Only Showed Interest In Leonard's Work If It Benefitted Her Own
In one of Beverly's final appearances on The Big Bang Theory, she appeared at Leonard's apartment to learn more about his latest physics project. Although Sheldon was working on incredible things, she ignored him and gave all her attention to Leonard.
For once, Leonard felt valued by his mother. Those good feelings eventually went down the drain, however, when Leonard was told that Beverly was only there for her own research. She admitted that she was writing a book on how her parenting strategies affected her adult children. This realization greatly upset Leonard because she was only being nice to him for research — not because she cared.
Beverly's Poor Advice
Leonard had a few relationships in TBBT before settling down with Penny. In season 5, Leonard was doing long-distance with Raj's sister Priya and wasn't sure if the relationship was worth his time. Since he exhausted advice from Penny, Leonard called his mom.
Instead of giving helpful advice that could save her son heartbreak, her words of wisdom were "Buck up, sissy pants." She continued telling Leonard that if he wanted her advice, he should read her books...
Beverly Only Liked Penny Because Of Sheldon
Sheldon and Penny's friendship was one of the best in the series. They were complete opposites but had a lot of respect for each other.
Although Penny was nothing but kind to Beverly and adoring to Leonard, the only reason why Beverly thought so highly of her was because of Sheldon — not Leonard. It was Sheldon's admiration for Penny that turned Beverly's original opinions about her around. It yet again bothered Leonard that Penny was only good enough for Beverly because she was good enough for Sheldon.
Did Leonard Marry A Version Of His Mother?
As hard as it might for Leonard and Penny to accept, Penny changed over the years and became a darker version of who she was in season 1.
In actuality, Penny was more or less like Beverly. Penny earned more than Leonard, and he would do anything that she asked to win her approval. In retrospect, Leonard married his mother. Beverly was the same in her relationship, and when she and Penny became closer friends in season 11, it rubbed Leonard the wrong way.
Leonard Never Told Beverly About His Wedding
Although Leonard and Beverly weren't close, it was upsetting for her when he didn't tell her about his marriage to Penny — especially since the couple live-streamed the wedding for their friends to watch.
Beverly lost respect for Leonard and Penny after she heard the news, which surprised Leonard. He had no idea his mom would even care about his relationship, let alone his wedding. Their continued disconnect and lack of communication were hard in their relationship, but it made great TV because his up and downs with Beverly were relatable for many viewers.