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

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.

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!"

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."

Sadly, despite Kelly and Ryan's relationship continuing in The Office, Mindy and B.J. split in real life. The duo did not reveal the reason for the split but continued to work together amicably on The Office until it ended in 2013. In 2014, Mindy revealed on The Howard Stern Show that B.J. had initiated the breakup.

"He broke up with me," she said. "It was years and years ago that that breakup happened. I was so sad, not angry, sad."

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."

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.

Following the birth of her daughter, B.J. and Mindy continue to attend award shows together. In 2019, she told Good Housekeeping that B.J. is the godfather of Katherine, which she re-confirmed in 2020 following the birth of her son, Spencer.

When discussing her children's relationship with B.J. on the Today Show in 2020, she said, "He said the funniest thing, he was like, 'Can you sue for god-paternity rights?'"

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.

She said, "He's the godparent to both my kids — and they have such a great relationship — and so far [the rumors haven't] affected my happiness at all, it hasn't affected my kids or B.J."

"If that's what is going to be titillating to people, I'll take it," Mindy added.

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.

Fans seem to think that they could be back for good when several TikTok comments have gone viral, claiming that Mindy's children refer to B.J. as "dad."

Whether there is any truth to the rumors, fans will have to wait for Mindy and/or B.J. to confirm for themselves.