Mindy Kaling Admitted to Having a Crush on Hugh Grant

If you’re one of those avid and die-hard shippers of Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak, stop reading unless you want to get your heart broken. It seems the producer of the Oscar nominated short film Anuja had a crush on somebody else, the very British Hugh Grant (it’s the accent, isn’t it?). 

In a recent interview with Dax Shepard and Monica Padman for an episode of the Armchair Expert podcast (via Page Six), Kaling admitted to having a crush on Grant and how the A-list actor is “so funny.” 

Kaling revealed that despite having a crush on Grant, she didn’t “Google him to see if he was between marriages” and was instead “satiated” simply by listening to him. Reflecting on Grant’s November 2024 interview on the SmartLess podcast, Kaling said, “I was like, ‘I know you haven’t had this conversation before, but why is every anecdote you’re saying perfectly worded? Great analogies, great callbacks to stories that you then call back later.” 

She also shared the benefits of staying single, including “never needing to compromise at all.” However, she did say that she’s open to finding love but doesn’t really “need” it. 

People, particularly The Office fans, can’t seem to stop hoping that she will get back together with co-star and ex-boyfriend B.J. Novak, with persistent rumors even saying Novak is the father of her children. Kaling did not publicly identify the father of his children: Katherine aged 7, Spencer aged 4 and Anne, who just recently turned 1. Although Novak is godfather to Katherine and Spencer 

In an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show in 2022 (via People), Mindy Kaling said, “He is a wonderful friend, and he is the godparent of both my kids and he loves children, and they're so attached to him. He's really 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. You have exes that you wouldn't necessarily marry now.” 

Naturally, it’s hard not to hope there’s something more between the two, especially when Novak called Kaling “my soup snake” during his Walk of Fame speech for her. Fans of The Office will recall that Michael Scott once referred to him and co-worker Holly Flax as “soup snakes” before switching it to “soulmates.”  

Part of his speech reads, “Congratulations, my soup snake. 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,” per Today.