First Things First

I loooove Mindy Kaling. She wrote some of the best episodes of The Office, and Kelly Kapoor is a drama-fueled hot mess that everyone can secretly or not-so-secretly relate to (side note: Kelly Kapoor would be very into this blog). The Mindy Project is one of my favorite shows of all time, and Mindy Lahiri is another wonderfully relatable hot mess, but with a string of cool boyfriends, a kid, and a highly successful career.

Another reason to love The Mindy Project – the clothes!

Obviously, I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing so many colors, but I love to look at them!

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Will They/Won’t They

What is it we love so much about Will They/Won’t They couples? Maybe it fulfills a fantasy of having the early part of a relationship (butterflies, hormones, deep insecurity, etc.) last for an unhealthily long time – something that doesn’t really work in real life. Or maybe it is just our brains’ obsession with needing things to “resolve.” Regardless, we love fictional WT/WT couples, and Mindy & B.J. (Min.J.? Beendy?) feel like a real life version that we get to watch from the sidelines like shameless voyeurs.

It is clear that we are all a little too obsessed with Mindy & B.J. when there are articles floating around with titles like

“B.J. Novak Went to Post-Oscars Party With Mindy Kaling and Stole Her Dinner: ‘I Ate Your Chicken Burger'”

or

“Mindy Kaling & B.J. Novak’s Twitter Exchange About Cookie Monster is Exactly What you Need to Read Today”

Apparently we will take any crumb of information about these two that we can get.

When Mindy Met B.J.

Mindy and B.J. met on the set of the office in 2004 at age 24. They connected immediately and, according to B.J., they were “never really dating and never really not dating.” No really knew what was going on between the two of them, themselves included, but they were constantly together and flirting/fighting. The dynamic inspired the relationship between Kelly and Ryan on the show.

B.J. — “We would have friendship-ending fights about four times a day, and start the next day as best friends again.”

They did officially date on and off during the course of the show, but B.J. was the one to officially break things off for good.

Mindy says that she was horribly sad and that it “was the hottest I’ve ever looked ’cause I stopped eating. When I get depressed, I stop eating. I was so miserable and so beautiful.”

Can Men & Women Ever Just Be Friends?

Despite the final breakup, they stayed close and have been best friends since. They use the phrase “soup snakes” to describe their relationship, which is a line from the office where Michael botched the phrase “soul mates.”

Mindy said in an interview, “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 call our friendship a romantically charged camaraderie with loud arguments.“

B.J. even played a character on the Mindy Project who is so unnaturally close with his female best friend that Mindy Lahiri breaks things off with him. So they seem to be pretty self-aware about the nature of their relationship. The title of the episode is “Harry & Sally.”

The Future?

They did a When Harry Met Sally-themed photo shoot for People Magazine that was adorable and fueling to our desperate need for them to be together. The parallels here are obvious: getting together and breaking up, the closeness throughout other relationships, the adorable constant bickering. And we all know how that movie ends.

Below is the video feature. Watch at your own risk because the chemistry level between them is almost alarming.

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When Mindy posted a behind the scenes photo on Instagram for National Best Friends day she said, “here we are dressed as Harry and Sally and I can’t really remember why. ❤️”

We know why. It’s called foreshadowing, Mindy. You should know that, you’re a writer.

Links & Photos

Mindy & B.J. Revisit When Harry Met Sally

Mindy Kaling as Body Positive Icon

27 Times Kelly Kapoor Deserved Her Own Spin-Off

Jokes You’ll Appreciate If You Only Wear Black

Every Outfit Sally Wears in When Harry Met Sally

Every Outfit Harry Wears in When Harry Met Sally

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