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Raj Koothrapali didn’t have the best luck with women. The Big Bang Theory fans hoped he would finally find his special someone by the time the show ended.

But the series finale ended with Raj still single. And according to the showrunners, there was a logical reason he didn’t find love. 

Kunal Nayyar on 'The Big Bang Theory'
| Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images

‘The Big Bang Theory’ started with a group of single scientists

When The Big Bang Theory premiered in 2007, its core characters — Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Howard (Simon Helberg), and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) — were all single men. Sheldon had no interest in a romantic relationship, so he steered clear of women. Leonard had a crush on Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and was hoping she would date him. 

Howard thought he was a ladies’ man and tried to date whoever he could. But Raj, who was unable to talk to women unless he drank alcohol, always hoped he’d find true love.

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Raj did have a few girlfriends

Raj did date a few women over The Big Bang Theory’s 12-season run. In season 6, he started dating Lucy (Kate Micucci), a socially-introverted woman who dumped him and allowed him to overcome his inability to talk to women.

In the show’s seventh season, Raj starts dating Emily (Laura Spencer), a dermatologist he meets online. She rejects Raj’s advances at first but gives him a second chance. The two dated until season 9 when Raj started pursuing Claire (Alessandra Torresani), a screenwriter he met at the comic book store. 

By the final season, Raj gives up on dating and asks his parents to find him a girl. They hook him up with Anu (Rati Gupta), and the two eventually get engaged. But near the end of the series, Anu is offered a job in London, and Raj decides not to join her. 

‘The Big Bang Theory’ showrunners reveal why Raj was single in the finale

In The Big Bang Theory season finale, Sheldon is married to Amy (Mayim Bialik) and accepts a Nobel prize. Leonard and Penny are also married and expecting their first child. Howard is married to Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) and is the father of two. 

While he does try to hit on Sarah Michelle Gellar during Sheldon’s Nobel ceremony, Raj is still very single. And for a character who was so driven by romance, it was hard for fans to understand why.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunners Chuck Lorre, and Steve Molaro, Steve Holland addressed Raj’s status in the finale. They said that they purposely kept Raj single because it was realistic to his storyline. 

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“Because of the way this finale was presented by Steve Holland, we didn’t feel like it was necessary to have some big story closure for every character,” Lorre explained. “That felt forced and somewhat unnecessary because sometimes big things don’t happen to everybody all at once unless you’re forcing it into a series finale. And that didn’t feel realistic. It didn’t feel like a comfortable way to go. So Raj’s story just remains open.”

Holland said that the writers had considered giving Raj a big romantic ending. But ultimately, they felt it was better to leave him living his life. And Molaro suggested Raj’s single status was like an homage to the show’s early storylines.

“I think this show started with these four guys all single,” Molaro said. “To honor the bones of the series, it’s OK that somebody still hasn’t found the right person.”

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