The Truth About Melissa Rauch's Husband

Melissa Rauch is best known for portraying the zany Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz on CBS's hit sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" for nine seasons. While the public may know Rauch as an accomplished actor and screenwriter, Rauch is also a devoted wife and mother who's been married for just about the same length of time as being a professional thespian.

The star has been pretty mum about her love life, but during the time she has talked about her beau, she's stated that she has been fortunate to find a great partner that has doubled as her creative partner (via New Jersey Monthly). We can't blame Rauch for wanting to keep her private life to herself as much as possible; however, that doesn't stop us from wanting to know more about her and the man she's married to.

So, who is this mystery man that Rauch has been married to for over a decade? Here's the truth about the actor's husband Winston Rauch (née Beigel).

Melissa and Winston Rauch wrote their first extensive collaboration in 2005; a comedy one-women stage show, "The Miss Education of Jenna Bush." That same year they presented it at the New York International Fringe Festival, and  won the Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Solo Show at the festival. Winston also directed the critically acclaimed project about the rebellious daughter of the 43rd president of the United States  (via Playbill).

The essence of the 90-minute skit was "our imagining private thoughts of her public incidents. Like a lot of people from our generation, Jenna's had opportunities and privileges handed to her, which can be as much a burden as a blessing. We think we pretty fairly exhibit that burden in the script," Melissa has stated according to the Kitsap Sun. The following year, Winston also directed their show at the 12th Annual Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen and later that fall at the Coronet Theater in Los Angeles (via TheaterMania).

While speaking with Interview Magazine, Melisa explained the dynamics between her and her husband's writing relationship. She said, "Our process is that we outline everything to death before we take a stab at writing the dialogue ... I'll take a stab at the scene, he'll take a stab at the scene, and we'll combine the best of. Or it will be like, 'What you wrote is better.' It's pretty balanced.'"

Winston Rauch may not be a household name but has quite a few projects under his belt, including the dark comedy film "The Bronze" that he and Melissa Rauch wrote together. The flick is about a former Olympian who is making a comeback in the world of gymnastics, only to find out that a younger athlete may be getting in the way of that.

According to People, Melissa gushed to reporters at a screening for "The Bronze" about the film becoming a reality for her and Winston. She stated, "I was just so thrilled because when we wrote it on the page, we kept thinking, are we actually going to be able to do this? So we were shooting, and I was running back behind the camera saying, 'This is so exciting being able to do this!'"

While dishing to Vulture about the film, Melissa also discussed an acrobatic sex scene she shared with actor Sebastian Stan who played a gymnastic coach, and said that her husband was a good sport. She recalled, "Oh, Winston was so game throughout. Anything for the sake of the movie! He would even be like, 'I think we should do another take of that.'"

When a married woman goes into labor, the one person expected in the delivery room is their husband. Unfortunately, Winston Rauch couldn't be with his wife because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a 2020 exclusive with Glamour, "The Big Bang Theory" star wrote an article about giving birth during the pandemic without Winston by her side and explained, "Although the hospital I was delivering at did allow birth partners, my husband had to stay home with our daughter since our original plan of having family come to town — as well as our backup plans — were no longer options due to COVID-19."

Also in Melissa's Glamour article she talks about saying her goodbyes to Winston and Sadie as she walked into the hospital alone and joked, "So I tried my best to hold on to that as I said goodbyes to my husband and daughter and walked myself into the hospital, masked up, clumsily balancing my bags and birthing ball like I was doing a knocked-up Mr. Bean bit." She also stated that there were times she wished she had the comfort of Winston while in the hospital. " I don't want to sugarcoat it," she explained. "It's an inherently difficult situation and there were moments I felt every feeling in the book of feelings — so much so that my feelings were having major feelings." However, she said that her nurses, doctors, and husband, who was there for the birth of Brooks via FaceTime, made her feel secure while in the delivery room.

On September 9, 2021, Melissa Rauch and her husband Winston Rauch launched a charity that started with a "Big Bang Theory" fan from Ireland. At the tender age of three, in 2017, Oscar Keogh was diagnosed with a Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) tumor. His parents, Yavanna and Lar, were told that Oscar had stage four cancer, and while treatment could help him live at least another two years, that's all that could be done. Not long after the diagnosis, the couple reached out to Melissa, who played her son's favorite character Bernadette Wolowitz. Yavanna was hoping she could get her son an autograph from the actress, and it was from there that the star and her husband connected with Oscar and his family (via the Irish Examiner). 

In an interview, Melissa shared that after Oscar's passing at age five, she and Winston wanted to do something to honor his life. That's when the charity Oscar's Kids was born. She shared, "My husband, Winston, and I joined forces with Oscar's parents, our dear friends ... to form Oscar's Kids." The organization raises awareness and funding for pediatric cancer and is a "trans-Atlantic pediatric cancer charity." The Keoghs run the chapter based out of Ireland, and the Rauchs run the U.S. division (via Leaders), and with his immense background in marketing, Winston handles acquiring funds for cancer research and DIPG.