
B.J. Novak's rumored love interest Delaney Rowe claims her partner doesn't 'trust' her as fans blast mystery man
TikTok star Delaney, who was romantically linked to The Office actor, 45, in April, opened up about her personal life during an appearance on the Boy Problems podcast, hosted by Liz Plank, which was released earlier this week.
Although she never explicitly referred anyone by name, the social media star, 29, said: 'I'm not like, you know the cuffs aren't on, like I'm not like fully boo'ed up, but like, I am dating and it's going okay.'
Explaining the hurdles plaguing her current romance, Delaney continued: 'I was the problem, and I had to sort of reconcile with that recently.
'I was not sure and so I was sort of noncommittal for a long period of time when he was like very sure.
'And so now I am sure and he's like, "I don't really trust your intentions at this point."'
Although the identity of the person Delaney was referring to was not revealed, social media users have blasted the man in question and have branded him as 'hugely manipulating and gaslighting.'
Taking to Reddit, one said: 'That is not a man you should be fighting for girl.'
Delaney and B.J. first sparked romance rumors in November when they were snapped together at The Official How Long Gone After Party at The Standard in New York City
'To be honest, it sounds like he love-bombed her in the beginning and eventually won her over,' another penned. 'And then there was no more conquest so he lost most of his interest.'
'Okay so it sounds like he's hugely manipulating and gaslighting her,' a third remarked.
A fourth commented: 'Lol he doesn't want "proof" girl, he's trying to "test you" and make you prove to him that you're good enough for him, solely to destroy your self-esteem and seek revenge for the rejection he initially faced.
'He will never treat you well, but he will destroy your self-esteem and sense of self-worth.
'Even if you date him seriously, he will continue making you prove yourself to him until you're just where he wants you - controllable, accommodating and submissive.'
'Sounds emotionally abusive tbh,' another simply said.
A sixth added: 'This is also one of the oldest tricks for toxic men. They know when you're not ready so they chase you and push, then when you finally give in or you're ready, they pull away - blame you for not accepting their commitment but they won't end it either.'
Daily Mail has contacted Delaney and B.J.'s reps for comment.
Social media users have blasted the man in question and have branded him as 'hugely manipulating and gaslighting'
Delaney and B.J. first sparked romance rumors in November when they were snapped together at The Official How Long Gone After Party at The Standard in New York City.
The following month, in December 2024, there was talk that the two might be seeing each other after they were spotted together at the Bowery Hotel in New York City.
For years it has been speculated that he is still dating his The Office costar Mindy Kaling and they have welcomed children together.
Mindy and B.J. dated on and off from 2004 to 2007, and although they have publicly insisted their bond is now platonic, rumors have swirled about their relationship.
The pair have remained friends since they met while working on The Office in 2004 and in 2017, B.J. became Mindy's daughter's godfather.
Additionally, the duo have appeared at multiple public events together since their split, igniting speculation that their relationship might be more than just amicable.
Their Office characters Kelly and Ryan had a complicated relationship on-screen, and by the series finale, the two characters were back together.
At the 2022 Emmy Awards, the pair poked fun at their 'insanely complicated relationship' while co-presenting the award for writing for a limited or anthology series or movie.
When she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Mindy - who has not publicly named the father of any of her three children - made headlines by describing BJ as an 'important and integral' part of her family.

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In a 2020 prospectus for potential investors, Pop Mart wrote: 'While traditional toys are primarily for children to play with, pop toys target young adults between 15 years old and 40 years old in general, who seek for emotional value from expressing personality and attitude.' The company declared itself 'relentless' in its desire to 'attract and build a fast-growing, young and passionate fanbase' and argued that blind boxes in particular inspire repeat purchases 'due to unpredictability and fun'. In 2019, Pop Mart asked market research company Frost & Sullivan to survey more than 1,000 consumers and found that, 'around 70% of pop toy consumers would purchase blind box toys three times or more for a specific toy design they want'. Lee has conducted studies on blind boxes and has found that most US consumers often come across their first blind box in stores and buy them impulsively. Yet regardless of the outcome – whether they get the toy they like the look of or a dud – people are often compelled to go back and buy another box. One of Lee's papers uncovered 'an addictive loop of impulsive purchases', arguing there was 'a 'dark side' to a seemingly innocuous product'. Online, an oft-repeated defence for the hyperconsumption of collectible toys is: 'It makes me happy. It's not harming anyone' – but is that really true? Beyond the environmental impact – not only are the toys themselves plastic, the packaging is often elaborate and multilayered to add to the thrill of unboxing – there is also personal wellbeing to consider. Nguyen says she initially hid the scale of her spending from her husband (whose business she helps run), and her mental health suffered at the peak of her blind box addiction. 'I have bipolar and I have very manic episodes where I'm willing to take more risks than I normally would,' she says. After high-energy episodes, sometimes she finds herself irritable and in a low mood. 'You just want a little quick fix. It's a perfect selling point for people like me who are struggling with their mental health, to just have that little sweet treat, to have that little bit of serotonin or dopamine in their systems.' Now that she has restricted herself to purchasing fewer blind boxes, Nguyen says: 'I feel like my nervous system has calmed a lot more.' Eddie is a 34-year-old cashier from Mississippi who recently spent about $400 on blind boxes in a single month. 'It made me feel sick to my stomach because I didn't feel like I was in control of what I was spending,' he says. 'I'd immediately have buyer's remorse after making a purchase, and sometimes, I wasn't even excited to get the package. I was more worried about the damage I'd done to my savings and finances.' A burgeoning field of study into these gambling-like mechanisms and their impact has researchers concerned. Leon Xiao is an assistant professor at the City University of Hong Kong who researches video game law and the challenges of regulating gambling-like products. Xiao's work has historically focused on 'loot boxes', which are digital blind boxes sold for real money inside video games. (The items inside often help players perform better in the game.) Yet Xiao is intrigued by the increased 'gamblification' of physical merchandise. 'I've seen T-shirts being sold in blind boxes, chocolates in blind boxes,' he says. While Xiao pours cold water on one Chinese study published in 2022, which found that engaging with blind boxes was positively associated with suicide risk in young people – 'that's obviously going too far. There's also a paper about drinking milk tea or boba linked to suicidal ideation' – he is troubled by other research findings. One longitudinal study published in 2023 found that young people who bought loot boxes participated in more gambling six months later than those who did not. One of Xiao's own studies has found a correlation between buying mystery card packs and experiencing gambling problems. And a paper published this July argued that loot box spending can be associated with psychological distress and an increased risk of 'extreme distress'. Xiao says: 'We are concerned about vulnerable people spending more money and experiencing harm.' Xiao wonders whether new consumer laws might be the answer. In China, a set of advisory guidelines released in 2022 asked companies to publish probability disclosures, set age and spending limits, and even implement 'pity mechanics' whereby customers are offered the item they desire after making a number of purchases. These guidelines also banned the sale of blind boxes to kids under age eight and required older children obtain parental permission before buying them – but in practice, enforcement is not so stringent. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission has looked into video game loot boxes and even fined one developer $20m for unfairly marketing to children and misleading players about the odds, but the FTC declined to comment on blind boxes when contacted by the Guardian. In 2018, loot boxes were declared illegal under existing gambling laws in Belgium, but Xiao's research has found that enforcement remains a problem there, too. Jesper Andersson is a 23-year-old from Sweden who realised in 2024 that he had spent more than $4,000 in just a few months on mystery packs in the video game Fifa. 'I've gambled normally on football and stuff like that, but I get anxious if I even lose $10. But when I drop $100 on Fifa, I don't even care,' he says. 'It's hard to explain why, it just feels very different.' Perhaps it feels different because Andersson's Fifa pack habit started as a child – without his own disposable income, he asked for Fifa coins every Christmas for nine years. A number of children's toys are now sold via a mystery mechanism: LOL Surprise! dolls, Mini Brands, and endless Disney figurines and plushies. It's easy to see how youngsters are becoming acclimatised to this type of consumption, which could arguably normalise gambling. In June, Bethan found herself with no money left for gas thanks to her Labubu habit. The 55-year-old – who has just passed the California bar exam and asked to use a pseudonym – got hooked on the dolls in May. 'It became like a game. Some of the time – most of the time – I didn't want the stuff. I just liked the excitement of waiting, finding and obtaining them,' she says. Bethan has spent hundreds of dollars on Labubus (and knockoff 'Lafufus') in just a few months; while she has been able to pay her bills, she has had to borrow money for gas, has no money left for emergencies, and has increased her credit card debt. 'There are things I didn't normally have to save up for but now I have to,' she says. But Bethan is not just motivated by the blind box mechanism – in fact, she has numerous packages sitting unopened in her house. She is compelled by a sense of competition; Labubus can sell out quickly online, and Bethan prides herself on tracking down sellers to get her hands on new releases. 'For me, it's getting them before everybody else … at a low price before they go up,' she says. As problematic as these compulsive behaviours can be, they could be exacerbated by new ways of shopping. Pop Mart runs a number of channels on TikTok where it drops new products in live streams, forcing consumers to scramble to add them to their carts. 'I genuinely spent three weeks every day trying to get one Labubu,' Jess says, 'I'll never forget feeling how I felt when I got one.' Another app, Whatnot, hosts live stream auctions where people bid on collectibles and other products – it's currently the 15th most popular free iPhone app. Eddie says Whatnot exacerbated his problem spending. 'The hosts and the chat make these kind of shopping events more fun but also parasocial,' he says. 'You see other people spending even more than you.' Eddie found it hard to keep track of his spending inside the app: 'I never saw an overall total from a shop until my order arrived at my house.' Lee, the marketing expert, says 'scarcity marketing' like this can be very psychologically compelling. He argues that time limits on drops and auctions can create a 'fear of missing out', compelling consumers to act impulsively. Defenders of blind boxes note that baseball cards have been around for over a century – and millennials bought mystery playing cards or stickers as kids. Yet, Lee says, what has changed now is the amount of money at stake and how easy it is to spend that money using digital platforms. While a pack of Pokémon cards might have cost a few dollars in the 1990s, most of the blind boxes offered on Pop Mart's website range in price from $15-$26 – though the most expensive one currently available is nearly $300. Bethan says she has 'cut back' on blind boxes, but has not stopped. Andersson last spent money in Fifa a month before we spoke, while Eddie is now trying to stay away from blind boxes. Nguyen has managed to recoup her money by reselling her collection online during the peak of Labubu popularity, but she still has unpopular ones sitting around that she cannot sell. Jess faces similar problems – she has tried to sell some of the Labubu figurines she does not like online but has found no one else likes them either. 'They're definitely not in as high demand as they were at the start of this year.' Jess is now prepared to sell her toys for half of what she paid for them. Yet although she now has 'quite a large collection of stuff and nowhere to put it', she is still buying more blind boxes. Her ultimate aim is to cut down to one box a month. Most of the people I speak to would like to see greater regulation of blind boxes, although when I first bring up the idea, Jess admits: 'My first reaction was: 'No! Please don't take these away from me.'' But she does believe blind boxes are akin to gambling, so suggests there should be 'greater warnings about what you could be sucked into'. 'I definitely convinced myself at the start that it wasn't something that could could hurt me, because of the nature of collecting cute things,' she says. 'But it's very underhanded, how it can affect you without you realizing.'