Fans Of The Office Agree These Two Stars Would Make A Perfect Pairing

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"The Office" is known, and beloved, for creating ultimate couple goals with Jim and Pam, but there's another, more low-key couple that fans have been rooting for, for years: Ryan and Kelly. The Dunder Mifflin colleagues have an on-again-off-again relationship arc that concludes when Kelly runs away with Ryan, leaving her doting fiancé Ravi behind. Long after the hit show ended, "The Office" fans have continued to call for actors BJ Novak and Mindy Kaling, who played Ryan and Kelly, to get together in real life too.

In 2025, Novak supported Kaling when she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and fans took it as yet another sign. "They're going to run away together like the end of The Office," one wrote in the comments section of an X post about the event. Another complained, "How long is this situationship gonna keep going," while a third quipped, "Never beating the allegations dawg." The reason fans believe so fervently that the former co-stars would be perfect for each other is because they've been so close for years. 

BJ Novak and Mindy Kaling's relationship originally began when the up-and-comers met in the writing room for "The Office." In fact, they dated in secret a year before the debut season aired, and continued casually seeing each other on and off, which meant they were writing Ryan and Kelly's story and performing it onscreen together while seeing each other IRL. BJ Novak and Mindy Kaling broke up for good in 2007, but "The Office" alums have stayed close, continuing to support each other through every achievement. 

BJ Novak and Mindy Kaling have spent years defining their relationship, to dissuade fans from thinking that they're dating. "I will freely admit: My relationship with B.J. Novak is weird as hell. He is not my boyfriend, but he is not my best friend," Kaling acknowledged in her 2016 book "Why Not Me?" adding, "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." For his part, Novak confessed that their closeness makes dating difficult for both of them. 

But these denials are not helped by the fact they use "soup snakes," a quote from "The Office," as a cute nickname for each other. Fans are convinced Kaling and Novak are destined to be together, and many even believe he's the secret father of her three children, which Kaling welcomed in 2017, 2020, and 2024. The "Not Suitable for Work" creator has kept the father's identity a secret, confirming only that she's raising them as a single mom. 

BJ Novak has a sweet relationship with Mindy Kaling's children, and he's even their godparent too. The "Never Have I Ever" co-creator also hasn't outright denied the rumor about their paternity. "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," Kaling reasoned to Bustle, in response to the swirling theories, in 2026.