Mindy Kaling responds to rumours about her relationship with co-star B.J Novak
Mindy Kaling is well aware that people have 'a lot of ideas' about what her relationship with B.J Novak is like - so she's now addressed the constant speculation.
The award-winning actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer opened up about the ironclad bond she shares with her The Office co-star, who she met back in 2004.
The pair struck up a friendship while starring on the hit sitcom together and things soon turned romantic, seeing them date on and off for three years.
In 2013, Novak explained they remained 'pretty inseparable best friends' and admitted they had a 'lot of chemistry', even though it was platonic.
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The actor, 46, admitted this occasionally got in the way of their dating lives, as he told Entertainment Weekly: "Whenever we date anyone else, I think there’s a period where the person is very skeptical of our friendship.
"It’s such a common thing to have that platonic best friend, that becomes a little weird when you start dating someone."
A couple of years later, Kaling offered up a similar vague but sweet definition of their situation, telling InStyle: "My relationship with B.J Novak is weird as hell. 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."
Although their interesting dynamic has been on display for more than two decades now, rumours about just how close they are have reared there head again recently.
As well as juggling a hectic career, Kaling, 46, is the mother to three young children - Katherine Swati, 7, Spencer Avu, 5, her two-year-old daughter Anne.
She has never revealed the identity of the father of her children, which has inevitably led to fans whipping up their own theories about who it could be - and Novak is the prime suspect in the eyes of social media users.
The funnyman is actually godfather to all three of Kaling's offspring and he appears to be very involved in the little ones lives.
But according to the mum, that's as far as it goes...and although she didn't outright deny the claims, she did clarify that she's a single lady and Novak just thankfully slots into her family perfectly.
In a new interview with Bustle, Kaling explained: "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.
"But I also know that it gives people a lot of ideas. If I was just watching it from the outside, I would have the same questions and the same reactions."
She also explained the reason behind why she hasn't revealed who fathered her children.
Kaling said: "The ramifications are so immediate for them that I just want to make sure that however I talk about it is in a way that really respects their privacy."
The Mindy Project star also admitted she never defined herself as 'a kid person', even though she always knew she wanted to have them, so being a single mother 'felt really crazy' to her.
"It’s one of the biggest mysteries in my life, this fervent knowledge that I knew I had to have kids that was not based on any real love of children," the comedy star said.
"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.
"As a single parent, I don’t want my children to be Hollywood orphans who just never see any parent while I shoot the show."
Kaling also said she is 'very happy and content without a partner', while also saying that 'there is not anyone out there' who she has a crush on right now.
Topics: The Office, Sex and Relationships, Celebrity, Parenting
Olivia Burke