Amy Farrah Fowler was just one part of what made The Big Bang Theory a raging success. Her smarts, wits, and relationship with Sheldon Cooper made her fascinating to watch. Like most of her friends on the show, Amy transformed from a shy woman with no social awareness to a sociable member of the friend group.
Like the men in her friend group, Amy had a hard childhood. She didn't have many friends and her relationship with her parents wasn't great. Had it not been for Penny and Bernadette, Amy would have continued to live a very sad and distant life. But even with best friends, Amy showed a glimpse into some of the saddest moments of her life.
Updated on August 29th, 2022, by Lynn Gibbs: The Big Bang Theory's Amy Farrah Fowler was one of the sadder characters in the series. While a funny and brilliant character, full of amazing potential, Amy had a hard upbringing and a sad youth. Thanks to Sheldon and Penny, Amy came out of her shell and became the woman she always wanted to be. However, even as a mature adult with endless opportunities, she still had sad things happen to her throughout TBBT.
She Was Bullied Growing Up
It wasn't until Amy became closer with Penny and Bernadette that fans learned the extent of Amy's bullied past. She told her friends that she relied on science and the harp to get her through hard times. In school, her classmates called her "Fuzzy Fingers Fowler" because of her hairy knuckles.
In 'The Speckerman Recurrence,' details about Penny's past aged poorly when she admitted that instead of being bullied, she was the bully. It took Amy's sad past to right her wrongs to make up for the lost time.
Everyone Judged Amy & Sheldon's Relationship
Even though Amy supported her friends through the ups and downs of their relationships, Amy was often judged for her relationship with Sheldon. Because Amy and Sheldon's relationship was slow at the start, characters like Penny and Leonard poked fun at the couple behind their backs.
Bernadette even made fun of Sheldon to Amy's face on various occasions, which always upset her. Whether it was about a parking space or their future children's genetic makeup, Amy was judged unfairly since Bernadette and Penny's relationships weren't perfect either.
She Had A Bad Relationship With Her Mom
Amy's past with her parents (particularly her mom) is a little fuzzy. At the start, Amy seemed close with her parents considering she wanted Sheldon to meet them early on in their friendship. As time went on, their relationship turned out to be more complex.
Amy's mom was incredibly strict and kept Amy in a "sin closet" when she misbehaved. Viewers finally saw Amy's mother during her wedding to Sheldon, and she was just as belittling and demeaning as Leonard's mom. Her upbringing and relationship with her parents aren't talked about enough to get a full understanding of her past, but the bits that were shared were upsetting.
Penny And Bernadette Tend To Leave Her Out
Amy, Bernadette, and Penny had some good girls' nights and some bad girls' nights. In the beginning, Amy wasn't familiar with the concept of wine and gossiping with friends, which made Penny and Bernadette question their potential friendship with her.
The three eventually became closer, but Amy was heartbroken in 'The Isolation Permutation' when she found out Penny and Bernadette went bridesmaid's dress shopping without her. The realization that she didn't have the friends she thought she did was disheartening. It took Bernadette and Penny a lot to convince Amy they truly did care about her.
Raj Made It Known That He Wasn't Attracted To Her
Once Amy, Bernadette, and Penny became closer, it was an unspoken decision that they would get together whenever their guys did. What should have been an exciting night out turned into a sad one when Raj joined their outing.
Raj told the trio that he typically fell in love with his friends' girlfriends, except for Amy. It was then that Amy felt undesirable because the one person who fell in love with everyone never found her attractive. It was one of those things that aged poorly for Raj because of how cold it was.
Sheldon Took Advantage Of Her Patience
Amy and Sheldon's relationship timeline throughout The Big Bang Theory was a wild journey. The two were friends for a while before ever taking their relationship to the next level.
Eventually, they became boyfriend and girlfriend and that's how it stayed for five years. Sadly, Sheldon's comfortability and idiosyncrasies made him incapable of moving forward in their relationship. Amy had no choice but to end the relationship because her needs were no longer being met. It was a sad awakening for her because the man she loved didn't see the same future she did.
Her Prom Experience Was Depressing
In one episode, the friend group decided to throw themselves an adult version of prom. They decorated the roof, got dressed up, and even rented a limo. Amy said some quotes about the TBBT group's friendship that hit home, but it was while they were planning prom that Amy admitted to how bad prom was without friends.
It was Amy's mom who paid Amy's cousin to take her to prom, but that sad idea failed when her cousin used the money for other things and ditched Amy. She ended up spending the majority of the dance with the custodians, even dancing with a mop at the end of the night.
She Had Low Self-Esteem
Amy didn't always have the best outfits compared to Penny and Bernadette, but she was comfortable enough that she didn't feel the need to change. Amy always said that she'd rather spend time on her work than on sexualizing her look.
It wasn't until she gained popularity after winning a Nobel Prize that her self-confidence was at an all-time low. She hated the way she looked in pictures and begged Raj for a makeover. It was upsetting to see one of the show's best characters so down on herself after once being so confident.
Amy Almost Lost Out On The Nobel Prize
Sheldon and Amy worked hard on their Super Asymmetry theory, and when their theory was confirmed by two scientists, they seemed like a shoo-in for a Nobel Prize. However, Amy was abruptly reminded that four people could not win a Nobel for the same thing — only three could.
Since the three men were physicists, they were prepared to kick Amy off the contender's list, even though she worked just as hard. As one of the few women in science, it was upsetting that her achievements in the field were going to be dismissed. Luckily, things turned in her favor, but it was a sad path to greatness.
Her Sex Life (Or Lack Thereof)
On one of Amy and Sheldon's date nights on The Big Bang Theory, they allowed their friend Bert to join them when they saw he was eating by himself. But when Bert told Amy that he knew everything there was about her and Sheldon's annual sex life, she was stunned.
Apparently, Sheldon told most of his friends at the university that he and Amy had coitus once a year. The fact that everyone was laughing at her sex life (or even knew about it) was embarrassing for Amy. Not only did she not want people to know about her love life, but her lack of sex life made things worse.
Her Issues With Friendship
Not only was Amy bullied as a kid, but she also had issues with friendship. While Amy was always true to herself and her values, she got roped into doing things because she didn't want to lose out on a friendship with Penny or Bernadette.
There's one scene where Amy told Penny that she would agree to anything Penny wanted to do because she made a deal with herself long ago that she'd do anything to keep a friend when she got one. She even thanked Penny for befriending her when she did because she could have easily entered a cult. However, this desperation for friendship where her needs weren't always met wasn't the healthiest of friendships.