George (Lance Barber) may have not officially started an affair with Young Sheldon’s Brenda (Melissa Peterman) — the one set up in The Big Bang Theory — but the interactions could also lead to his divorce in Young Sheldon. Fans of Big Bang Theory know that Sheldon’s dad is going to cheat on his mom, and it all started seemingly in the season 4 finale. While it didn’t actually happen at that time, season 5 led closer to the affair when George and Brenda spent time at the pub having some drinks together. Surprisingly, Brenda suggested that they leave and go to her home, where they could be alone.
However, this led to George’s health emergency where he was rushed to the hospital. No one else knows what happened that night — except for George and Brenda — and they seemed determined to keep it that way. That being said, even if the two didn’t technically do anything wrong, their night together lays the groundwork for the Coopers’ marriage falling apart. During Mary and George’s drive home from the hospital in Young Sheldon, George heartbreakingly admitted that he was dissatisfied with the current state of his life. However, instead of engaging, he decided to invalidate his own feelings, suggesting they just forget that whole night altogether. Of course, he just didn’t want to think about his borderline inappropriate flirting with Brenda as part of what happened that night.
Why Young Sheldon’s George Cheats On Mary
George’s Young Sheldon Brenda affair was set up in the season 4 finale after he and Mary had a massive fight. The fight led him to Brenda, and the two was interrupted from their almost-tryst by his health scare. Young Sheldon season 5, episode 19, revealed George does have a secret. Therefore, it’s likely that the two are cozying up offscreen, only to be caught later by Sheldon. Unfortunately, George refusing to openly discuss his feelings with his wife will only result in pent-up resentment towards his present situation moving forward. Before his admission, he briefly talked about such feelings in an earlier episode of Young Sheldon in season 4.
Given this, it’s safe to say that this has been plaguing him for quite a while now. He just didn’t want to bring it up with his family. As per grown-up Sheldon’s (Jim Parsons) story in The Big Bang Theory, his dad was no good — something that the spin-off clearly contradicts. What if his refusal to properly talk about this issue becomes the reason for his gradual change for the worse? It could explain the discrepancy in characterization between Young Sheldon and its parent series.
Mary Begins To Suspect George Is Cheating In Season 6
In season 6, it was shown that a Young Sheldon Brenda and Geroge affair might not be the one Sheldon hinted at on Big Bang Theory. This is because of a confrontation between Mary and Brenda in “German Folk Song and An Actual Adult,” where Mary accused her of cheating with her husband. However, it was Brenda’s reaction and their heart-to-heart conversation that cast doubt on this possible outcome. The two women had an argument and then finally broke down and shared their concerns with each other.
When it comes to the Young Sheldon Brenda theories, this entire conversation seemed to at least steer them in a different direction. Brenda had helped get Mary a job at the bowling alley, and they hadn’t really spoken on Young Sheldon since the hospital incident. Mary ended up quitting and storming out, but Brenda searched her out and told her side of the story, which in no way involved an affair. Mary believed her and it seemed to dismiss her as the affair that hurt Sheldon so much as a child. However, this means there was another mistress, or Brenda was lying about it to fix her problems with Mary.
What George’s Affair Means For Sheldon’s Character
In The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon is a character with a myriad of idiosyncrasies, and the most notable one, directly caused by witnessing George’s affair in the Young Sheldon timeline, is his three-knock rule. Before ever entering a room, he famously knocks three times while repeating that person’s name, before letting himself in. This was explained by Sheldon in a conversation with Penny on TBBT: he does this because he walked in on his father having an affair with a woman. This sad part of Sheldon’s backstory hasn’t happened yet in the spinoff series, but the storyline was finally explored in season 5.
Another way that Sheldon was affected by George’s affair was in his ability to trust and his views on marriage. Despite being incredibly naive, Sheldon isn’t a trusting person. His life is laid out on a tight schedule, with no room for surprises. Anyone in violation of things like roommate agreements immediately loses all trust and faces severe Sheldon-type consequences. His reluctance to marry Amy in The Big Bang Theory stems from his reaction to George’s extramarital experience. While the two do end up tying the knot, he does mention that his parent’s relationship, and divorce, have clouded how he sees marriage.
Therefore, he hems and haws and wastes time not marrying Amy while trying to justify his flimsy reasoning. The Coopers’ discussion around George’s problem doesn’t guarantee that their marriage will be saved in the long run. If Young Sheldon sticks to what’s established in The Big Bang Theory, the couple is headed towards a dark and ugly path from here on out. Despite this, if George didn’t refuse to relive the events of that emotional night, at least they could’ve tried to repair their secretly crumbling relationship.