And ultimately, he’s honored to have her as a friend. “She cares so much about everything,” Novak said, “and I care so much about her.”
And the feeling is mutual. As Kaling told him during her acceptance speech, “I’m so lucky that my favorite writer is also my best friend. I love you.”
The pair’s close friendship post-split has long gotten a lot of attention from fans, to the point where there has been past speculation that he is the father of her kids Katherine, 5, and son Spencer, 2.
“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,” Kaling told Marie Claire in August. “If that’s what is going to be titillating to people, I’ll take it.”
But if you find yourself shipping them once more after Novak’s moving tribtue, well, Kaling has previously indicated that chapter is closed.
“He is a wonderful friend,” she said on a December episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, “and he’s the godparent of both of my kids, and he loves children and they’re so attached to him. He’s really a part of our family. But 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.”