Update: John Krasinski is here to clear up information he says was "taken wildly out of context." He isn't trying to break our hearts by saying that he and his Office co-star Jenna Fischer were never in love, but, alas, that is exactly what he is doing.
“I think that was wildly misquoted or taken out of context,” Krasinski told The Daily Beast.
“I’m sure she was trying to say something nice about how genuine the acting relationship was, of bringing a relationship that became that popular on-screen — and I think we both feel it’s such an honor to be a part of that relationship. As far as how she was quoted about saying we were ‘genuinely in love,’ I think that was taken wildly out of context and I feel bad for her.”
Okay, Jim, we get it... You two were just acting.
This article was originally published on January 21 at 7:15 p.m.
The ranking of on-screen sitcom romances is a hotly disputed topic. Some are team Ross and Rachel. Cory and Topanga have their acolytes. Or maybe you’re a George Michael and Ann type of person. We don’t judge! But however you do rankings, Jim and Pam from the American version of The Office have to be top five. Maybe top two. Okay, they’re probably the greatest.
So when Jenna Fischer appeared on Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live, she was sure to get at least one question about her relationship with co-star John Krasinski. A caller obliged, asking if they were actually in love or if it was just really good acting.
Fischer said they were. Well, kind of:
“John and I have real chemistry. There is a real part of me that’s Pam and a real part of him that’s Jim. And those parts of us were genuinely in love with one another. But in real life we aren’t totally Pam and totally Jim so in real life we’re not the perfect match. So it’s a really complicated thing but he was like a type of spouse that I had for a long time. He was my partner and we will always be close because of it.”
The concept of a work spouse is nothing new. It’s fun and harmless to leave each other small gifts or make sure you always wait for the other one for lunch. Things get more complicated when you’re playing a work spouse at a job when your job is to play a work spouse that’s secretly in love with her work spouse. So you’ve got a double work spouse situation, which has got to be an absolute emotional minefield. We're feeling confused just thinking about it.
Whatever the case, it’s good to know that we’re not all just hallucinating and that the two aren’t the greatest actors of all time. We wonder what John and Jenna’s real life spouses think of their fictional…you know what? Never mind.