Kaley wasn't the first onscreen love interest Johnny ever romanced. Though it's unclear how long they dated, Johnny and his Roseanne costar Sara dated while playing David and Darlene between 1988 and 1997, and they even reunited for the series reboot over 20 years later in 2018.
During a September 2013 episode of The Talk, Sara revealed that she realised she was gay while dating Johnny. "I thought he was super cute and had a crush on him," she recounted. "We started dating, and he would come over and we would, like, make out, and then I would start to get depressed . . . I eventually told him I thought it was about my sexuality, and he was super sweet about it." Johnny supported her and the two were able to maintain a close friendship.