Kaling has revealed that Novak is the godfather of her two children.
Mindy Kaling’s bestie, B.J. Novak, has a sound piece of advice for her when she is speaking to her daughter. On episode three of the Archetypes podcast, the 43-year-old actress reveals to host Meghan Markle that Novak, who is her children’s godfather, offered a tip for the type of compliments she should give her daughter daily.
After sharing how she often categorized herself as the “ugly duckling” or “smart one” growing up, she wanted to make sure she told her 4-year-old daughter, Katherine, she was beautiful every day. While the idea seemed like a good thing to her, her friend and former co-star shared how it really isn’t good for her daughter in the long run.
“So much of it too is what we tell our kids," Kaling says. “I mean, so I grew up always feeling ugly, overweight, othered. So, with my daughter, I’m always telling her that she’s beautiful to the point where my friend, B.J., is like, ‘You can tell her other compliments.’”
“I was always told, ‘Oh, you’re smart. I had confidence in my studies.’ And I was like, ‘Yes, yes, of course.’ And it’s funny how you’re like, ‘I'm focusing too much on this.’”
Kaling adds about her praise for her daughter, “Every morning I’m like, ‘You’re so beautiful,’ to the point where it’s like that’s not healthy either. But I do think that’s how we can sort of change things.”
In addition to Katherine, Mindy is also the mother of 2-year-old Spencer. Last week, Kaling celebrated Novak’s role as godfather, after she put the extra measures he takes for her kids on display. The Office star shared a picture of Katherine and Novak bonding after a stargazing trip.
“My four year old had the best night of her life at our star party + Saturn spotting at @griffithobservatory! We kept her up way past her bedtime and it was worth it, even though it was cloudy last night,” she captioned the photo carousel. “Thank you @bjnovak for sharing your passion for astronomy and for @orionbearastronomy and @griffithobservatory for a spectacular night!”
In one of the pictures, Novak holds Katherine as she points to the sky.
Earlier this month, ET spoke with the actress, where she couldn't help but gush over Novak's role as a godfather.
"He's very good with children!" Kaling shared at the time. "He literally wrote a best-selling book called The Book With No Pictures for kids."
"It comes very innately to him, you know, like being with children," she added. "So he's a great godfather."
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