Big Bang star Mayim Bialik blossoms online
Mayim Bialik writes about everything from the series to Thanksgiving with her ex-husband and his girlfriend
You could say Mayim Bialik has blossomed online. From airing out grievances with a United flight attendant she claimed “shut the boarding gate in my face” on social media to writing of the painful end of her five-year relationship on her women’s lifestyle website Grok Nation, the former child actor who currently stars on The Big Bang Theory tackles it all.
“I’ve always been a writer; I’ve always had an interest in writing,” Bialik, 43, said last month, explaining that she started with penning pieces for Jewish parenting resource Kveller.
“I started my own site because I wanted to write about things other than just Jewish parenting, and also I really wanted to have more ownership over the brand that my writing seemed to fall into,” she said of the site that she later joked is “like if [Gwyneth Paltrow’s] Goop was for the rest of us.”
The site, founded in 2015, is divided into seven sections: news, culture, home, style, health, soul and relating.
Bialik writes on a variety of topics, including Big Bang, as well as her personal life.
“I can’t really say that I pride myself on being an authentic person, but I don’t really know any other way to be in terms of what I want to share and how I want to share it,” she said.
“I see a lot of very polished images or even very curated images of non-polished moms or women, and neither of those are really my style.
“What I try and reflect on Grok Nation is the person I am. It’s complicated and sometimes it’s messy, and there’s a lot of honesty and also a lot of opportunities for joy and for fun,” she said, “but many people, I think, seem to really resonate with a website that is really dealing with the messy bits of life in an unapologetic way.”
Those “messy bits” include spending Thanksgiving with ex-husband Michael Stone and his girlfriend, sans a relationship of her own. In December, she wrote about her breakup and gave tips for “surviving” the holiday season.
“That was actually a really hard decision about, ‘Do I write about [my breakup] and why?’ … and what I really decided to do was to try and find the things that have been helpful for me in order to share those.
“I don’t believe that Grok Nation, or Goop, or really any place needs to be a dumping ground for: ‘Here are the crazy things in my life, deal with it,’ “she added. “I really wanted to come from the perspective of: ‘This is where I’m at, this is what I decided to do this time around with this break-up.’ ”
As for how she’s doing, Bialik said she is keeping busy.
“I definitely feel like every day is a new opportunity to be doing better. I took up yoga again, and I’m fiercely doing kickboxing and Taekwondo,” she said.
“I think those things really help, and I continue to go to therapy. I’m a very firm believer; I happen to do classical psychotherapy and really believe in it, and those are the things that are helping.
“Sometimes I stay home and do puzzles, and sometimes I try and go out and do social things. It’s a mixed bag. I’m definitely doing OK, and thank goodness for my cats.”
As for future romantic prospects, Bialik, a mom of two boys, won’t be finding them on dating apps.
Last July, she uploaded a video to her YouTube channel: “Why Online Dating Is Bad For Us.”
She hasn’t grown any fonder of it since. “I’m gonna go the oldfashioned route,” she said, “either none, or the way people used to meet, like by being set up by friends.”
And for those wondering about the possibility of a matchmaker, Bialik declined, saying: “That sounds terrifying.”
Less terrifying is the close of Big Bang, which will end in May with its 12th season.
“It is very, very emotional, but also, it’s the start of a new chapter of all of our lives, which is also exciting,” said Bialik, who plays Amy Farrah Fowler.
“We definitely were aware that we’re counting down, and it’s hard,” she said.
“I’m used to saying: ‘Oh next year we’ll do this or whatever,’ and there’s no more next year. This is it. So, it’s very emotional.”
Bialik is unsure of her plans once the popular sitcom ends, and said she is “looking forward to Grok Nation getting more of my writing time and more of my attention.”
If the future holds a reboot of the ’90s series Blossom, which Bialik starred in as a kid, she is staying tight-lipped about it.
“I cannot speak to a Blossom reboot or reunion, but we’re having our own little miniature reunions all the time,” she said.