James Marsden and Lizzy Caplan Joke About Past Dating Rumors: 'We Liked to Get the Gossip Going'

"We were with each other all the time," James Marsden said about rumors they were dating after making the 2012 movie "Bachelorette"

James Marsden and Lizzy Caplan's relationship is still strictly platonic — but they've had some fun with romance rumors anyway.

In a new joint interview with Vanity Fair, the longtime friends opened up about buzz that they were dating back in 2014, two years after they starred in the comedy Bachelorette together.

"We were with each other all the time, is probably why. We liked to get the gossip going," said Marsden, 49, of what possibly started the rumors.

"Oh yeah. Love that side of it all," joked Caplan, 40.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

Related: Lizzy Caplan Denies Dating James Marsden

The Disenchanted actor then asked Caplan, "Remember just smoking our asses off? I was never a smoker [before]."

"I know, I used to bring that out in people in my youth. It's terrible," she joked in reply.

Though the duo has been spotted out spending time together in 2014, the Fatal Attraction actress put dating rumors to bed in a conversation with PEOPLE that summer.

“He’s just one of my best friends,” she said at Showtime's Emmy Eve Soiree in August 2014. “He’s one of my dearest friends.”

But even if the pals had been romantically linked, the Mean Girls star was quick to point out that she’d keep it a secret. “I wouldn’t tell you anyway!” she said of Marsden, who split from his wife of 11 years, Lisa Linde, in 2011.

In the new Vanity Fair conversation, Marsden said Caplan helped him through the divorce. “I was going through a divorce, and she was one of my closest friends during that time,” he said.

Related: All the New Celebrity Couples of 2023

The former spouses share son Jack, 22, and daughter Mary, 17, while Marsden also has a 10-year-old son, William, with Brazilian model Rose Costa.

Meanwhile, Caplan tied the knot with Tom Riley in September 2017, a year after they got engaged. The two welcomed son Alfie in 2021.

"My whole life is different than it was 15 years ago — all vast improvements," the Fleishman Is in Trouble actress told PEOPLE last month. "While I appreciate that time, I'm also very happy to be in this new chapter, [where] my priorities are set."

"I have a baby, [am] married," Caplan continued. "That part of my life is the most important part of my life, where in the past, work was the most important part."

She added, "There are definitely benefits to getting older, as well as the shock and fear that comes along with it."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.