The Office’s Jenna Fischer admits she still feels the need to ‘justify’ not dating John Krasinski

It’s completely normal to ship a fictional couple in a TV series or movie franchise, but sometimes fans might take it too far. And when I say “too far,” I mean totally harassing an actor for dating someone who isn’t their co-star/love interest in real life. This sadly happens time and time again, and The Office‘s Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski know it far too well.

Those who love the NBC series will know that Fischer and Krasinski played fan-favorite couple Pam Beesly and Jim Halpert, respectively, whose will-they-won’t-they relationship blossomed into a romance and even a successful marriage. Though they had their problems towards the end of the series, people still loved (and love now!) them together—so much so, that fans have continued to rally for Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski to date outside of Dunder Mifflin.

The two actors have spoken out on the strong fan reaction in the past, and now Fischer is touching on the subject again, admitting she still feels the need to “justify” why she and Krasinski aren’t “actually in love.”

As reported by People, the 46-year-old actress appeared as a guest on Brian Baumgartner’s podcast An Oral History of The Office, where she explained how tough it is to have to explain why she and Krasinski aren’t together. “People don’t know how John and I are not a couple in real life,” she stated. “They don’t understand it.”

And Fischer had a great comparison to offer. “I don’t know how to explain it, because it’s a little bit like telling kids there’s no Santa,” she told Baumgartner (who played Kevin Malone on The Office‘s nine-season run). Yikes! Looks like we might all be shipping Jim and Pam too hard?

Fans of the actors are fully aware that they’re both in successful marriages, with Krasinski marrying Golden Globe winner Emily Blunt in 2010, and Fischer saying “I do” to director Lee Kirk that same year. To find out who the rest of the cast of The Office is dating and married to in real life, click here.

Fischer and Krasinski certainly seem very happy in their own marriages, so we get why they wouldn’t want to hear how cute they would be with their former co-star instead. But at the end of the day, rooting for Jim and Pam on The Office is just in our Scranton blood!