Mindy and BJ, BJ and Mindy. While The Office was airing, they were the ultimate “will they, won’t they.”
On screen, their characters were in a constant cycle of hooking up and then breaking up. But what about their off-screen counterparts?
Mindy has finally let us in on the secret behind these “soup snakes.”
Minday and BJ were both writers on “The Office.”
Before they became characters on the show, they were hired as writers.
Both were extremely young—only 24—when they landed their gigs on The Office . All of this happened back in 2004.
They were then cast on the show.
Mindy took on the role of Kelly Kapoor, and BJ became Ryan Howard.
The two characters started dating on the show, thanks to Kelly’s obsession with Ryan.
Then they broke up. And got back together. And broke up again. Listen, it was complicated, okay?
While Kelly and Ryan were dating, so were Mindy and BJ.
Behind the scenes, the two writer/actors fell for each other.
They dated on and off for the show’s run, and they were somehow actually more complicated than Kelly and Ryan were.
It basically went like this:
“No one, including us, ever really knew, ‘Is this dating? Is this not dating?’ We were never really dating, we were never really not dating.
We didn’t know. No one knew. All you’d know for sure as that you’d always find one of us next to the other, even if we weren’t getting along.” BJ told Vulture .
Ever since then, fans have been obsessed with their relationship.
Mindy dedicated a whole chapter to BJ in her book.
She called them “soup snakes,” a reference to Michael Scott mispronouncing “soulmates.”
BJ dedicated an Instagram post to her to celebrate her role in A Wrinkle in Time .
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So what’s the tea?
Mindy recently gave an interview where she talked about their current relationship.
After almost 16 years of friendship, there’s certainly a lot to unpack with them.
Mindy decided to clarify things with CBS News.
First thing’s first: they’re not dating, so let’s get that straight.
She’s okay with people speculating about it, though.
She said, “I’ve known him for 16 years. We met each other when we were 24, and we’re about to be 40.
Anyone who’s known each other for that long…I think it’s nice, I like when people think it’s more romantic, or sparkly, or interesting than it is.”
In fact, he plays an important role in her daughter’s life.
“You know who your friends for 16 years are. It’s not that way. He’s a wonderful friend. He’s the godfather to my daughter.”
Mindy gave birth to her daughter, Katherine, in 2017. BJ is her godfather!
They’re dedicated to being the best friends they can be.
She revealed that they see each other every single week.
“We do spend a lot of time together and it’s a great blessing in my life.”
She’s so lucky to have such solid friendships in her life.
Mindy views their relationship as something other than friends.
“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.”
Family? This is so wholesome and pure!
They’re still working together, though!
On top of being friends (and family), they’re also co-workers again.
In 2015, they were given a $7.5 million book deal to break down the history of their relationship. Um, I hope that book is coming soon.
And they regularly feature in each other’s social media circles.
Some of the greatest hits of their exchanges are splashed across the internet for BJ/Mindy shippers to eat up.
This text conversation is 100% a conversation I would have, for the record.
They attend award shows together!
Like, frequently. If it’s not premieres of each other’s work, it’s big-time award shows.
Last year, they hit up the Vanity Fair Oscar party and took a bunch of adorable pictures in the photo booth.
This is a great example of how nuts they are.
#goodfriend #brave
Ugh, their minds. We stan two friends who also love to support their former co-star…as a backup if Mindy doesn’t want to see a scary zombie movie.
She just hates zombies so much, guys.
So, that’s that on BJ and Mindy.
Even soup snakes can be platonic, and it sounds like that’s what BJ and Mindy are.
However, it’s also nice that Mindy doesn’t hate the speculation—after all, curiosity is a powerful thing!
