Because George Sr.'s actions as a devoted father and husband in "Young Sheldon" establish him as a good man, fans sometimes wonder whether his 'affair' is actually just a misunderstanding that adult Sheldon believes well into his adulthood. A number of very specific versions of this theory were posted on the r/YoungSheldon subreddit shortly before the Season 5 finale.
In their post, u/ilike2burn theorized three different paths that could lead to such a misunderstanding, each with different levels of culpability on the parts of George Sr. and Mary (Zoe Perry). In one path, this user suggested that George could become upset that Mary is spending too much time with Pastor Jeff (Matt Hobby). An ensuing fight could lead Mary to kick George out, leading George to seek refuge with Brenda Sparks (Melissa Peterman).
In another version of the theory, George could initiate a revenge affair with Brenda, but stop midway. However, at this point, Sheldon would enter the room and get the wrong idea. The post even draws an interesting conclusion to the scenario by adding that Mary could decide to confess her emotional affair at the dinner table, but George would cut her short and admit that it was him who actually cheated. Sheldon, without knowing the whole truth, would then reasonably hold a grudge against his father well into adulthood.
