If there’s one Hollywood relationship that continues to baffle and delight fans in equal measure, it’s the decades-long connection between Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak.
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From on-screen lovers to real-life co-writers, BFFs, exes, and possibly something more, the duo have nurtured a famously ambiguous relationship since meeting on The Office in 2004. Their bond has weathered on-again-off-again dating rumours.
The two have established a strong friendship and have not hinted at any romance brewing in a while. Moreover, Novak has been rumoured to be dating a younger TikTok star.
TikTok fame and fresh romance: Who is Delaney Rowe?
Indeed, Novak has recently been linked to 28-year-old TikTok star Delaney Rowe.
Their connection first raised eyebrows in late 2024, after they were photographed at several events, including a Goodrich screening and the How Long Gone after-party. They were also seen leaving the Bowery Hotel together, according to DeuxMoi. In April 2025, People confirmed through sources that the pair are officially dating.
So, who is Delaney Rowe? Raised in Boise, Idaho, Rowe initially aimed for a more traditional acting path. She participated in the Idaho Shakespeare Festival and hoped to study at Juilliard or NYU. When those plans didn’t materialise, she moved to Los Angeles and pursued a BFA in acting.
However, Rowe soon found that the roles she was offered didn’t align with her comedic strengths. She told Vanity Fair that her team pushed her towards 'Nina Dobrev type' parts, which felt mismatched.
Frustrated, she turned to TikTok as a creative outlet during the pandemic. She explained:
TikTok came around, and I was like, I’m just going to use this as one big self-tape to show anybody who wants to watch that I can be funny.
Her clever, satirical takes on film tropes quickly found an audience. Rowe clarified to Who What Wear:
I love these movies that I make fun of. I think it’s so fantastic, and it’s almost my homage to it rather than a parody.
As her follower count climbed, boasting over 3 million followers on TikTok and more than 1 million on Instagram, so did media interest, especially when Novak entered the picture. Neither Novak nor Rowe have publicly commented on their relationship, but fans remain curious as their sightings together continue.
As Novak is entering a new chapter of romance with a lady that is not Kaling, let's take a look at how their relationship developed into an unbreakable friendship.
Their 'romantically charged camaraderie': Kaling and Novak's enduring connection
Mindy and BJ's relationship has always been complicated—and fascinating. They dated from 2004 to 2007 while filming The Office, where their characters, Kelly and Ryan, mirrored their off-screen rollercoaster romance.
Over the years, they’ve never quite left each other's orbit. As Mindy told InStyle in 2015:
I will freely admit: My relationship with BJ 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 ‘romantically charged camaraderie with loud argument,’ but I don’t think Facebook would accept this as a new status.
BJ himself once described their relationship at the 2022 Producers Guild Awards as ‘a tumultuous romantic toxic boundaryless mess.’ He added:
We were in love with each other and we were reckless idiots and the two of us would argue about all of these things forever, grinding the writers’ room to a halt, until we got too upset, and we’d go to our respective offices and slam the door where we could continue arguing over Instant Messenger.
It was this very chaos that reportedly inspired The Office producers to give their characters a complicated romantic arc. He said:
When the producers realised that our relationship as co-writers had humped every conceivable boundary and become a tumultuous romantic toxic boundaryless mess, they pulled us aside and said, ‘Hey, you should have scenes together too. You guys are pretty funny together!
The pair have never confirmed being in a romantic relationship again after their initial split, although speculation never quite died down.
Instead, they've leaned into the mystery with playful public appearances. At the 2022 Emmys, they cheekily referenced their 'insanely complicated relationship.'
Novak's admiration for Kaling was on full display at her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. He called her 'a brilliant and wildly successful showrunner, an incredible mother of three, a deep and caring daughter and friend and mentor to so many.'
Mindy responded warmly in her speech:
Fun Fact: My daughter calls BJ uncle FoFo, I have no idea why that is. But he’s such an important and integral part of my family that sometimes I forget that the reason that I know him is that we worked together professionally.
She continued:
I love you.
But immediately added platonically.
From public speeches to red carpet appearances, their history continues to evolve in full view of the media.
Is Mindy Kaling seeing anyone?
Despite all the attention, Mindy Kaling has remained steadfastly private about her personal life. She is a single mother to three children—Katherine (7), Spencer (4), and Anne (1)—and has never publicly disclosed the identity of their father.
The speculation that BJ Novak could be the father persists, though she has made no confirmations.
In 2019, Mindy clarified the nature of Novak’s presence in their lives to CBS:
He’s the godfather to my daughter. 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.
She reiterated this again on The Drew Barrymore Show in 2022:
He is a wonderful friend and he is the godparent of both my kids and he loves children and they're so attached to him. He's really part of our family...
We've known each other for a long, long time and I think anyone who's been friends with someone for 18, 19 years and at one point dated and now doesn't, they maybe understand this. You have exes that you wouldn't necessarily marry now.
While fans remain fascinated, Kaling has been open about her current disinterest in romance. On the Armchair Expert podcast in March 2025, she said:
I don't remember the last time I had a crush. I don't have lust feelings.
She linked this to having recently had a child, noting:
If you've had to pump milk for a baby within the last six months, maybe you have to give yourself some time.
Read more:
Elizabeth Hurley and Billy Ray Cyrus' new romance: Source claims 'Miley didn't know'
Sources used:
Daily Mail: Mindy Kaling's rumored baby daddy BJ Novak, 45, has a 'new girlfriend' who is 17 years younger
People: Who Is B.J. Novak's Girlfriend? All About TikTok Creator Delaney Rowe (and How They've Been Quietly Dating for Months)
The Tab: From The Office to kids: Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak’s deeply complicated relationship, explained
People: Mindy Kaling Gives Rare Update on Her Love Life as a Single Mom of 3
