"They remind me of Ross and Rachel from Friends"—Internet swoons as B.J. Novak kisses Mindy Kaling’s head at her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony

On February 18th, the talented actress, screenwriter, and producer was honored with a star on the storied Hollywood Walk of Fame. Generally, close family and friends are in attendance for the ceremony, and the same was the case for Mindy, but one name stood out: former The Office co-star B.J. Novak.

While posing for photographers together with Mindy holding the official plaque commemorating her achievement, B.J. leaned in and kissed her head in a demonstration of his unwavering affection.

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Social media users were quick to weigh in on the interaction. One X user in particular pointed out,

"They remind me of ROSS and RACHEL from Friends. Just get it together already!"

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A few others also joined in,

"he’s been her biggest fan from day one, I love that," praised a user.

"so are they in love or what??" pondered a netizen.

"Why didn’t they get married?! They’re perfect," another person pointed out.

This user even recalled the ending of The Office and said,

"They're going to run away together like the end of The Office"

Mindy and B.J.—Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony

While accepting the truly special, career-defining nod, Mindy spoke candidly about B.J. and their relationship.

“He’s such an important and integral part of my family that sometimes I forget that the reason that I know him is because we worked together professionally. I’m as starstruck by him now at age 29 as I was when I first met you—at 24.”

Earlier in the proceedings, B.J. also shared some heartfelt words about Kaling and did not forget to tease his longtime friend.

“In addition to being a brilliant and wildly successful showrunner, an incredible mother of three, a deep and caring daughter, and a friend and mentor to so many. Mindy is also, in her spare time—I assure you—very superficial.”

After initially approaching his speech with his trademark levity, B.J. continued in a markedly more sincere tone.

“You'd be on the walk of talent if they had one. You'd be on the walk of friendship. You'd be on the walk of compassionate parenthood. But let's face it, all of these would be terrible field trips, so here you are instead, very deservedly, a person who means so much to so many on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.”

Mindy and B.J.—A brief history

While they briefly dated between 2004 and 2007, the pair’s relationship has led many to wonder about the inner workings of their dynamic over the years. It seemed to be an on-and-off relationship during the early years of The Office, and they called it quits in 2007, easily transitioning to friends.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2013, B.J. said

"We are pretty inseparable best friends with a lot of chemistry ourselves, and we're not dating. Whenever we date anyone else, I think there's a period where the person is very skeptical of our friendship."

For her part, Mindy seemed to quell any potential of a romantic link between the pair in an interview on The Drew Barrymore Show back in 2022.

“He is a wonderful friend and he’s godparent of both of my kids and he loves children and they’re so attached to him. I think anyone who's been friends with someone for 18 or 19 years and at one point dated and now doesn’t, they maybe understand this.”

The conversation among social media users has reached a veritable boiling point despite Mindy's public insistence that their connection is still platonic, especially considering how frequently they appear together at award presentations and red carpet events.

Keep reading SoapCentral for more such pieces.

Edited by Sangeeta Mathew

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"They remind me of Ross and Rachel from Friends"—Internet swoons as B.J. Novak kisses Mindy Kaling’s head at her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony

Mindy and B.J.—Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony

Mindy and B.J.—A brief history

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