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Growing up in small-town Texas, Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage on "Young Sheldon," Jim Parsons on "The Big Bang Theory") always had a special connection with his very stylish Meemaw (June Squibb on "The Big Bang Theory," Annie Potts on "Young Sheldon"), who is arguably the best-dressed character on television. Throughout "Young Sheldon," the child genius often frustrated his parents due to his anti-religious views and stuck-up attitude, but Meemaw was always loving, protective, and affectionate toward him (even when she exploited his genius mind for sports betting). What's more, she was always on hand to teach Sheldon valuable life lessons that couldn't be learned from books — like the time she taught him how to lie and bluff while playing cards. Given that Meemaw is such an influential person in Sheldon's life, it was a shock to find her missing from his and Amy Farrah Fowler's (Mayim Bialik) wedding on "The Big Bang Theory," which occurred in season 11's "The Bow Tie Asymmetry" episode. The rest of his family was present and accounted for, but his grandmother had to sit it out. Why is that? Well, wonder no more, as the show's creators have opened up about the logistical and storyline reasons that led to Meemaw's absence during the most important day in Sheldon and Amy's relationship on "The Big Bang Theory." With that in mind, let's find out what they had to say on the matter. Sheldon's Meemaw appears on "The Big Bang Theory," and she even meets Amy Farrah Fowler in the season 9 episode "The Meemaw Materialization." Unfortunately for Amy, though, Meemaw is intent on giving her a hard time for breaking up with Sheldon in the past, but she eventually warms to the bride-to-be and approves of their relationship. That said, there is enough tension between the pair to imply Meemaw disliking Amy is the reason she's missing at their wedding, although there's a simpler explanation — time constraints. While speaking to Deadline in 2018, "Big Bang Theory" co-showrunner Steve Holland revealed that the show's creatives recorded a scene featuring Meemaw sending her well wishes via a phone message, but including it would have made the episode go over its running time. In his own words: "We had recorded a phone message from Meemaw explaining why she couldn't be there (she is in her 90s, after all), and sadly we had to cut it for time. It was a hard cut to make, not only because it was a sweet moment but also because I know people are going to wonder why Meemaw didn't get mentioned, but at the end of the day we had to make the best episode we could, and a 30-second phone call was going to be 30 seconds less wedding we got to see." That's an understandable reason for Meemaw's absence, but it isn't the only one. You see, by the time the wedding episode rolled around, the "Big Bang Theory" franchise had expanded, and Meemaw became synonymous with the "Young Sheldon" spin-off — and the creators had to keep that in mind for the audience's sake. However, fans should know that the character appeared to be in good spirits at the time of the wedding. "Young Sheldon" debuted before "The Big Bang Theory" ended in 2019, with the 1980s-set prequel series introducing Annie Potts' version of Meemaw. With this version of Meemaw being much younger, and played by a different actor than the one we meet on "The Big Bang Theory," the franchise's creators were probably conscious about potentially confusing viewers. The good news, though, is that Meemaw was in good health at the time of Amy and Sheldon's wedding. The aforementioned deleted scene reveals that she was just too old and frail to attend the ceremony, but she apologizes to her grandson for not making it, feeling bad that she went to his brother and sister's big days, but not his. However, there is no talk of her experiencing significant health problems or anything of that nature. Be that as it may, Meemaw also says that she believes her grandson's relationship will go the distance, proving once and for all that she really came around to Sheldon's wife, despite their rocky introduction to each other. A cameo appearance would have been great, but at least Meemaw gave her blessing to the happy couple. "The Big Bang Theory" and "Young Sheldon" are currently streaming on HBO Max.
