Popsugar Celebrity Celebrity Friendships Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak Pictures Soulmates or "Soup Snakes": We Love Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak's Relationship at Every Stage 8 March 2018 by Karenna Meredith First Published: 5 March 2018 Image Source: Getty / Nicholas Hunt / VF18 Being wrapped up in the Mindy Kaling/B.J. Novak ship isn't a hobby, it's a way of life. The duo, known for their on-again, off-again relationship as Kelly Kapoor and Ryan Howard on The Office, frequently give diehard fans reasons to root for their real-life love. Mindy and B.J. met in 2005 while writing for the hit NBC show and eventually began dating. While they did break up, the pair still remain "best friends." They refer to each other as "soup snakes," a term from The Office that's an alternative to soulmates and perfectly encapsulates their strong bond. If their dynamic confuses you, don't worry: Mindy herself understands that their romantic standing isn't totally clear and even called their relationship "weird as hell." Whether they're simply walking the red carpet together or they're together-together, we'll take any excuse to see this duo in action. Keep reading to see some of their greatest snaps together, from their days at The Office to the 2018 Vanity Fair Oscars party. Image Source: Getty / Michael Tran Archive 1 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Apr 1, 2016 at 9:34am PDT 2 / 45 Image Source: Getty / Michael Loccisano 3 / 45 Image Source: Getty / Jeff Kravitz 4 / 45 Image Source: Getty / John Shearer 5 / 45 Image Source: Getty / Christopher Polk 6 / 45 Image Source: Getty / Jeff Kravitz 7 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Mar 4, 2012 at 10:11pm PST 8 / 45 Image Source: Getty / Dimitrios Kambouris 9 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Feb 25, 2013 at 12:52am PST 10 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on May 6, 2013 at 4:07pm PDT 11 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Aug 3, 2013 at 11:13pm PDT 12 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Dec 7, 2013 at 2:31pm PST 13 / 45 @picturesoftext asked what is the concept of this photo? Answer: "mid city best friends" A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Dec 15, 2013 at 4:29pm PST 14 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Jan 1, 2014 at 9:13am PST 15 / 45 Image Source: Getty / Alberto E. Rodriguez 16 / 45 @picturesoftext soupsnakes A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Mar 2, 2014 at 12:59am PST 17 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Mar 2, 2014 at 4:42pm PST 18 / 45 Image Source: Getty / Mark Sullivan 19 / 45 And thank you for the cookie in honor of my soup snake @mindykaling A post shared by B.J. Novak (@picturesoftext) on Mar 11, 2014 at 9:44pm PDT 20 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Apr 12, 2014 at 7:28pm PDT 21 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Jul 24, 2014 at 1:54pm PDT 22 / 45 "Best friend isn't a person, it's a tier." Here I am with @picturesoftext, we are dressed as Harry and Sally and I can't really remember why. ❤️#nationalbestfriendsday A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Jun 8, 2017 at 8:23pm PDT 23 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Jul 27, 2014 at 6:55pm PDT 24 / 45 Home in Boston. Grocery shopping with my Mom. Hi @mindykaling A post shared by B.J. Novak (@picturesoftext) on Apr 4, 2015 at 9:16am PDT 25 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Apr 21, 2015 at 7:32pm PDT 26 / 45 Image Source: Getty / John Lamparski 27 / 45 I read it before you sent it, @mindykaling, but now I love it twice as much. How could I not love it: it is literally you in book form. Funny, heartfelt, insightful, entertaining, smart, surprising, sincere, the best. A post shared by B.J. Novak (@picturesoftext) on Sep 15, 2015 at 10:31am PDT 28 / 45 A post shared by B.J. Novak (@picturesoftext) on Nov 12, 2015 at 1:58pm PST 29 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on May 1, 2016 at 9:09pm PDT 30 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Apr 13, 2016 at 9:44pm PDT 31 / 45 Happy Best Friend Day A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Jun 8, 2016 at 10:45pm PDT 32 / 45 Image Source: Getty / Jerod Harris 33 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Sep 5, 2016 at 1:57pm PDT 34 / 45 You know you're cool if I break out my starry top for you. A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Dec 22, 2016 at 9:49pm PST 35 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Feb 26, 2017 at 9:42pm PST 36 / 45 A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Feb 27, 2017 at 12:29am PST 37 / 45 Image Source: Getty / John Shearer 38 / 45 Image Source: Getty / TheStewartofNY 39 / 45 Image Source: Getty / Alberto E. Rodriguez 40 / 45 Image Source: Getty / John Shearer 41 / 45 Image Source: Getty / Kevin Mazur / VF18 42 / 45 Image Source: Getty / Nicholas Hunt / VF18 43 / 45 Image Source: Getty / Dia Dipasupil 44 / 45 Super present with @mindykaling @vanityfair ❤️ 📱📷 A post shared by B.J. Novak (@picturesoftext) on Mar 4, 2018 at 10:02pm PST 45 / 45 Celebrity FriendshipsBJ NovakMindy KalingCelebrities