Mindy Kaling has finally broken her silence on long-time rumors suggesting that she has secretly been dating B.J. Novak. The duo undeniably shares a close bond, and their fans have often shipped them together. Nonetheless, the duo, who once shared screen space in The Office and had been in a relationship for some time, have now transitioned into nothing more than good friends.
In 2025, during an interview with Armchair Expert, Mindy Kaling confirmed that she had neither a crush on anyone nor was dating anyone. In her latest interview with Bustle, the situation doesn’t seem to have changed, as she still claimed not to be “actively searching” for anyone special in her life.
She said, “I obviously have eyes and ears, and if there was someone that I had a crush on, of course I would react to that, but right now, there is not anyone out there.”
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On a lighter note, she also expressed her surprise that, for somebody like her, who spent much of her life writing about the search for love, she now feels genuinely happy and fulfilled even without being in a relationship.
Kaling has been quite open about embracing motherhood with her three kids, Katherine, Spencer, and Anne. She not only shared her pregnancy photos but also announced the birth of her kids online. However, who the father of their kids is or Kaling’s road to motherhood remains a secret. Meanwhile, rumor mills have been quite active on various occasions, speculating that she shares these kids with Novak.
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On the other hand, the Late Night actress has been very clear that she will talk about her children’s father when they grow up. She noted that the consequences of talking about it are so “immediate for them” that she would want to discuss it in a way that also protects their privacy.
Nevertheless, she talked about her children’s godfather and her close friend, Novak. “He really is in our family, and I love talking about him because my kids adore him, and he’s such a huge part of our life,” she said.
Addressing the online chatter, Kaling acknowledged that it may give people plenty of ideas to speculate on. She admitted that if she were on the other side, she probably would also have similar questions and reactions.
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The Emmy-nominated writer says that the idea of becoming a single mom for her “felt really crazy.” While she always wanted to parent, she was never truly “a kid person.” She described it as one of the biggest puzzles in her life, saying she always felt strongly that she was meant to have children, even though the feeling did not come from a natural fondness for kids.
“B.J., for instance, he’s always been a kid person. He has a brother who’s 13 years younger than him, and he loved his little brother and just always has been a kid person. It’s such a deep mystery why I needed to do it,” she added.
Mindy and Novak reportedly met on the sets of NBC’s The Office and dated on and off from 2004 to 2007.
