That seems to be the question on many of Mindy Kaling’s fans’ minds, and now she’s finally reacting to a viral rumor that the father of her two children, Katherine, 5, and Spencer, 2, is her The Office co-star B.J. Novak!

In case you’re not caught up on the buzz, The Office stars dated for three years before calling it quits romantically in 2007. Unlike many Hollywood relationships, they’ve only grown stronger since their breakup. Seeing as they are still so close, many of her followers have wondered if B.J. helped Mindy welcome her two children into the world… and, after all this time, she’s finally opening up about the chatter!

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In a new interview with Marie Claire out on Tuesday, the actress revealed she’s heard the speculation and doesn’t mind at all! Keeping tight-lipped about her little ones’ paternity, she shared:

“It doesn’t bother me.”

So, what is B.J.’s involvement in her kids’ lives then? It’s actually quite special, she noted:

“He’s the godparent to both my kids — and they have such a great relationship.”

Cute!

Most importantly, she doesn’t mind the speculation only because “it hasn’t affected” her family life — otherwise we’re sure she would have clapped back at the rumors much sooner to protect her babies! The Never Have I Ever creator explained:

“So [the speculation hasn’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.”

LOLz!! Such a great attitude to have amid the rumors!

It doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Mindy is keeping quiet about her children’s father. She’s been notoriously private about her personal life, including her fertility journey, ever since welcoming her daughter in 2017. On why that is so important to her, she noted she wants to wait until her kids are “old enough to talk about it” before revealing details to the public. The 43-year-old teased:

“I’m the only parent my kids have. I think I err on the side of super cautious so that there’s less things that they can potentially be mad at me about down the line.”

That makes so much sense. It’s her family anyway. Nobody has to know if she doesn’t want them to!

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But…

Why has the speculation caught so much traction in the first place? Well, there is a lot of evidence to back it up! While the pair have not been romantically involved for a long time, in 2020, Mindy revealed on Good Morning America that she considers the actor more like “family than a platonic friend.” They were even in a “pandemic pod” together during COVID-19, she shared:

“He’s great with kids. And so it’s been really nice to have his energy in the house.”

So sweet! We’re sure it was fun for everyone to have some company during those stressful times, especially since Spencer was born in 2020 amid the madness! This wasn’t the first time she gushed about her relationship with the Vengeance star either. In 2015, The Mindy Project alum told InStyle:

“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. 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.”

Two years prior, B.J. also admitted their close-knit friendship was causing problems in their dating lives. He said:

“Whenever we date anyone else, I think there’s a period where the person is very skeptical of our friendship. ‘Everyone seems to think you two might be a couple, and I don’t mean to get in the way. Are you sure you’re not dating? Are you sure you’re not going to end up dating?’ It’s such a common thing to have that platonic best friend that becomes a little weird when you start dating someone.”

Not hard to see why some fans are convinced B.J. may have helped Mindy start a family after hearing all that! They seem SUPER close! But the only thing that really matters is Mindy and her kids’ health and happiness. Sounds like everything worked out the way it was meant to. Just don’t hold out hope for learning the truth behind the rumors. It’s hard to know if that day will ever come! For now, what do you make of Mindy’s reaction to the speculation? Sound OFF (below!)

[Image via FayesVision/WENN & Mindy Kaling/Instagram]