Donato Sardella/Getty
Melissa Rauchand her husband, Winston Rauch (né Beigel), aren’t just romantic partners but companions in their professional lives, too.
Long before Melissa was known for her role as the high-pitched Bernadette Rostenkowski onThe Big Bang Theory, thestar met her now-husband, Winston, a writer and producer. The two connected as freshmen at Marymount Manhattan College, where they became writing partners and collaborated on comedic sketches.
The couple worked on their first big project: a one-woman theater show calledThe Miss Education of Jenna Bush— a satirical coming-of-age story about President George Bush’s daughter — in 2005. Since then, the pair has debuted the 2015 dark comedyThe Bronze,a movieabout a former Olympic gymnast and the ups and downs of local celebrity, andNight Court, a reimagination of the popular original ‘80s television sitcom, which premiered in early 2023.
“He is my best friend and the love of my life, in addition to being an incredible writing partner. The only thing I regret is not meeting him even sooner, as my life has just gotten better since he came into it,” Melissa toldNew Jersey Monthlyin 2014. “Winston and I spend all our free time writing new projects. It’s so rewarding to see those passion projects come to life.”
So, who is Melissa Rauch’s husband? Here’s everything to know about Winston Rauch and his relationship with the actress.
He’s a writer and producer
Winston Rauch and Melissa Rauch attend the afterparty for a screening of ‘The Bronze’ on March 17, 2016 in New York City.Jamie McCarthy/Getty
Jamie McCarthy/Getty
Winston is a writer and producer, and each of his projects have been completed alongside his wife, Melissa.
As Melissa mentioned on the podcastAt Home with Linda & Drew Scottin 2020, her husband’s credits include a comedy short film calledTheCondom Killer— which she also co-wrote and directed right after the pair moved to Los Angeles after college.
Winston was also the mind behind the 2015Sundance Film FestivalhitThe Bronzethat he co-wrote and produced with Melissa. The couple collaborated again for the 2023 reboot of the NBC sitcomNight Court, for which they are both executive producers.
Melissa and Winston run their own production company, After January Productions, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., that produces comedy and drama projects. The couple’s production company was launched following the release ofThe Bronze, perDeadline.
“One of my favorite things in life has always been writing with Winston,” Melissa told theLA Timesin 2015, ahead ofThe Bronze’spremiere at Sundance.
For Melissa and Winston, writing is a collaborative effort. They begin with an outline or overall idea for the scene. “[Then] we’ll either improvise what the dialogue should be, or we’ll just sit next to each other and pitch ideas for the dialogue,” Melissa toldInterviewmagazinein 2016. “Sometimes I’ll take a stab at the scene, he’ll take a stab at the scene, and we’ll combine the best of.”
They wrote their first big project while job-hunting post-college
Melissa Rauch and Winston Beigel on March 9, 2006 at private residence in Aspen, Colorado.Mary Sue Bonetti/WireImage
Mary Sue Bonetti/WireImage
After graduation in 2005, Melissa and Winston were waiting tables and looking for jobs when they decided to write a one-woman show for Melissa to perform calledThe Miss Education of Jenna Bush, a satire piece based onGeorge W. Bush’s daughter,Jenna Bush Hager.
It was largely a coming-of-age story about a young woman finding her way into adulthood “while also using the Bush presidency for some comedic exploration,” Melissa toldInterviewmagazine in 2016.
“We set it the night before Jenna was going to be teaching her first day of elementary school. She was drunk and hungover and needed to become an adult in one night," she added.
He took her last name
After Melissa and Winston married, the couple went the less conventional route, with him taking his wife’s last name — he changed his name from Winston Beigel to Winston Rauch.
The couple didn’t plan it, but Winston took matters into his own hands.
“It was not even something that we had really talked about. But he had said a couple times, ‘You know, people oftentimes will just call me Mr. Rauch anyway,’ ” Melissa told podcast hostsLindaandDrew Scotton an episode of their podcast,At Homein 2020.
One day, Winston called her from the social security offices, saying that he had officially changed his last name to Rauch.
They have two children
Winston Rauch and Melissa Rauch attend the premiere of ‘The Bronze’ on March 7, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.Jason Kempin/Getty
Jason Kempin/Getty
Melissa and Winston welcomed their first child, Sadie Rauch, in December 2017. Melissa announced the birth of their daughteron Instagramon Dec. 5.
“Our hearts arebursting at the seamswith love for her. I will never take for granted the difficult road it took to get here,” she captioned the post, alongside a pink and gold graphic with the words “It’s a girl.”
Earlier that year, in July, Melissa published an essay onGlamourrevealing that shehad a miscarriagebefore becoming pregnant with Sadie, describing it as “one of the most profound sorrows I have ever felt in my life.”
In May 2020, Melissa and Winston welcomed their second child, Brooks Rauch, during the height of the pandemic.
As the kids have grown up, they’ve begun to realize what their parents do for a living — at least partially. In February 2023, Melissa appeared onThe Jennifer Hudson Showand said that as a result of her showNight Court, her childrenbelieve she’s a real judge.
“Is it wrong [that] I haven’t corrected them?” Melissa quipped.
They co-founded a charity
Melissa and Winston launched and manage the United States chapter of the pediatric cancer charityOscar’s Kids, which they founded in 2021, according to the organization’s website. The charity is in partnership with the Irish chapter of Oscar’s Kids, both raising money for the research of the brain tumor Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG).
Oscar’s Kids was established in honor of a 5-year-oldThe Big Bang Theoryfanfrom Ireland named Oscarwho was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2018. Oscar was a huge fan of the show and called Melissa’s character Bernadette his “girlfriend.”
On a whim, Oscar’s parents reached out to Melissa on social media, and Melissa responded, keeping in touch with Oscar via messages and videos throughout his illness, according to the organization’s website. After Oscar died, they came up with the idea to found a pediatric cancer charity in his honor.
“By helping launch Oscar’s Kids,I wanted to do something to honor his lifeand find a cure for this devastating disease,” Melissa told PEOPLE in 2021. “We’ll raise money and awareness so other parents won’t have to endure what [Oscar’s parents] have. Our goal is for parents like them to see their children lead long and healthy lives.”
They spend a lot of time together
Amy Graves/WireImage
As romantic and professional partners, Melissa and Winston spend much more time together than most couples — seeing each other at home and work. OnLate Night with Seth Meyersin 2023, Melissa talked about what it’s like to spend so much time with your partner.
“When you work together and you live together, there’s no water cooler chat. I can’t be like, ‘What did you do last night,’ because I know!” Melissa told hostSeth Meyers.“We argued over who was going to do the dishes, then we watched 10 minutes of a Hallmark movie and fell asleep.”
She continued, “If [Winston] was late, he couldn’t say that he was stuck in traffic because I saw him sitting at the kitchen table playing fantasy football.”
But Melissa also enjoys the positives of working with her husband. “This is going to sound so cheesy,”she told RogerEbert.comin 2016. “There’s something about watching them do what they’re meant to do that is so gratifying.”
He has directed Melissa
Winston Rauch, Melissa Rauch and Sebastian Stan attend ‘The Bronze’ premiere during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2015 in Park City, Utah.George Pimentel/Getty
George Pimentel/Getty
Melissa and Winston have a talent for writing comedy for television and movies, but he also has a sense of humor in real life.
“In the script we wrote, ‘crazy gymnastics sex,’ but we didn’t just leave it at that. We thought that would be unfair to our director Bryan Buckley,” Winstontold theLA Timesin 2015. “We did outline what we thought that might be, not ever believing that he would be able to bring it to life, because it [was] intense and intricate.”
Melissa also revealed Winston was a good sport, too. “It’s very interesting to have your husband behind the monitor while you’re shooting something like this and you hear him say like, ‘I think we can get another take of that,’ ” Melissatold reporters at a screening of the moviein 2016.
source: people.com
