Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak Might Be Back on — Check out Their Relationship Timeline (2024)

Famed The Office co-stars and real-life former flames Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak have always been the picture of friendly exes. When Mindy had her children, many speculated that, despite keeping the identity of the father private, B.J. was the father.

Now, fans are convinced that the pair have reunited once more, but is there any truth to the rumor? Keep reading for everything you need to know about Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak's relationship timeline.

In 2004, Mindy and B.J. meet working on 'The Office.'

Although the exact date Mindy and B.J. began dating is unclear, the catalyst was their hit NBC sitcom The Office. In 2012, B.J. discussed their relationship with Vulture, saying that sometimes even they weren't sure if they were in a relationship.

B.J. explained, "No one, including us, ever really knew, 'Is this dating? Is this not dating?' We were never really dating, we were never really not dating. We didn't know. No one knew. All you'd know for sure was that you'd always find one of us next to the other, even if we weren't getting along."

In 2015, Mindy gave a few details about their relationship at BookCon, where she said, "We grew up 10 minutes away from each other, we just never knew each other. Kind of romantic actually!"

By 2006, their characters on the show began dating.

Although Mindy and B.J. had a healthy friendship and relationship, their characters in The Office, Kelly Kapoor and Ryan Howard were constantly going through ups and downs. Their characters' closeness prompted questions from fans about their relationship, which B.J. also addressed.

"Sometimes viewers would ask, 'Are Ryan and Kelly together right now, not together?' It's not even that I wouldn't know. I thought the question was missing the point," B.J. explained to Vulture. "I think it was sort of expressive of the relationship that we were in."

In 2007, B.J. and Mindy announced they had split.

2015-2016: Relationship rumors spark again.

Speaking to InStyle, Mindy explained her complicated relationship with B.J.: "He is not my boyfriend, but he is not my best friend. I guess you could describe our relationship as a ‘romantically charged camaraderie with loud arguments,’ but I don’t think Facebook would accept this as a new status."

Later that year, in her first book, Why Not Me? Mindy dedicates an entire chapter to B.J. The chapter title is "Soup Snakes," an in-joke from The Office where the lead character Michael misreads "soulmates" as "soup snakes." Speaking about the book at BookCon, she joked about The Mindy Project, calling it "the love of her life," to which B.J. quipped, "Thanks a lot." Mindy corrected herself by saying, "The second love of my life."

2017: Mindy has her first child.

On Dec. 15, 2017, Mindy reveals the birth of her first child: Katherine "Kit" Swati, named in honor of Mindy's mother, who passed away of cancer in 2012. Mindy had only confirmed her pregnancy that July, and eventually started telling friends after Oprah Winfrey, her co-star in A Wrinkle in Time, spilled the beans first.

B.J. is revealed to be the godfather of both Mindy's children in 2019 and 2020.

August 2022: Mindy addresses rumors B.J. is the father of her children.

Due to B.J.'s continuously present role in her children's lives, it's only natural that fans would assume they were dating again — or that B.J. is the father of her children. After remaining notoriously silent on the matter of her kids' paternity, Mindy addressed the rumors outright in August 2022 to Marie Claire.

November 2022: Dating rumors spark again on Twitter and TikTok.

The rumor mill is once again full steam ahead after users on TikTok allege they have been seeing Mindy, B.J., and the two children around Los Angeles as a family unit. The duo took the children stargazing, courtesy of B.J., and they were presenters at the 2022 Emmys together. During their time as presenters, Mindy and B.J. joked about their complicated relationship onstage.