Mindy Kaling knows you have a lot of questions.
The actress-writer has never publicly shared the paternity of her daughter Katherine, 4, and son Spencer, 23 months, leading some fans to speculate that their father is her longtime close friend and “The Office” co-star B.J. Novak. After all, the two have remained very close throughout the years despite ending their romantic relationship way back in 2007.
So, what’s really going on between the friendly exes? Though Kaling remains tight-lipped about who actually fathered her kids, she recently told Marie Claire that it “doesn’t bother me” how people may think Novak is actually their dad.
“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 BJ,” she explained in an interview published on Aug. 9. “If that’s what is going to be titillating to people, I’ll take it.”
Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak Through the Years
However, that doesn’t mean the “The Mindy Project” alum isn’t open to sharing her family’s journey. As she noted, she’ll speak about the paternity of her kids when Katherine and Spencer are “old enough to talk to me about it.”
“I’m the only parent my kids have,” she said. “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.”
For now, Kaling is perfectly content with her family’s dynamics, including Novak being a close part of the clan. In 2020, she told Good Morning America that the “Vengeance” actor “is so much more like family now than a platonic friend.”
Adding that Novak was part of their “pandemic pod,” she raved, “He’s great with kids. And so it’s been really nice to have his energy in the house.”
