In addition to briefly playing a couple on The Office, Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak dated in real life a long time ago, when they were on-and-off for “a couple of years,” as Kaling told Vulture in 2012. But don’t get too excited: Since then, they have been and still are just really good friends. They’re so close, in fact, that Novak is actually the godfather of Kaling’s first child, Katherine Kaling. If anyone out there is still shipping them, though, apparently Kaling thinks it’s kind of sweet.
In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Kaling opened up about how involved people seem to be in her relationship with Novak. In the past, she’s called her connection to him “weird as hell,” but she now says things have evolved into a tight-knit friendship.
“It’s nice that people care,” she said. “I’ve known him for 16 years. We met each other when we were 24, and we’re about to be 40. Anyone who’s known each other for that long … I think it’s nice, I like when people think it’s more romantic or sparkly or interesting than it is.”
Still, everything between them is strictly platonic. “He’s a wonderful friend. He’s the godfather to my daughter,” she said. “I see him every week. It isn’t the thing that people sometimes think it is. He’s really part of my family now, which is great. Even though that’s less of a sexy characterization of our relationship, I think it’s a deeper and a closer one. We do spend a lot of time together and it’s a great blessing in my life.”
It’s not the first time Kaling has opened up about their friendship. In an interview with Good Housekeeping last month, she said she kind of understands why rumors surrounding the two of them might happen—even if they aren’t true.
“If I was on the outside looking at it, I would think the same thing,” she told Good Housekeeping. “But the truth is that B.J. is so much more like family now than a platonic friend.”
