As the world awaits The Bear season three, speculation about a workplace romance between Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy and Ayo Edebiri’s Sydney has reached a boiling point. Although this topic has been widely discussed—and debated—by viewers of the FX series, discourse has intensified as we get closer to The Bear’s return at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on June 26, three hours ahead of the show’s original June 27 date.

But when asked at a press conference on Monday about whether The Bear had considered scripting a romance between the show’s two lead characters, both White and Edebiri answered with a resounding “No.”

“There was no talk in the rooms about any romantic implications [between Carmy and Sydney],” White added for good measure.

The costars did, however, agree that an official partnership agreement between Carmy and Sydney—as shown in the third season trailer—may affect their dynamic. “Carmy is somebody that I think she’s really looked up to, but now is sort of in the thick of doing business with,” said Edebiri, “and it’s, I think, a lot more chaotic than she might have idealized before they really started working together.”

White admitted that his character is “not the best communicator, but he will often make a sort of grand gesture like that to try and communicate to Syd or the kitchen or whomever,” later adding, “He’s got a lot going on in his mind all the time, and people aren’t always aware of exactly what’s going on. You’ll see, obviously, how that affects Carmen and Syd’s relationship, but I think Carmen’s trying to welcome her in a little bit was the point of the partnership agreement.”

Renewed interest in Carmy and Sydney’s bond comes amid conjecture about the off-screen dynamic between White and Edebiri, who have declined to address rumors that they’re dating. “We really enjoy each other in life, on camera and off camera,” White said in a statement to Vanity Fair for Edebiri’s recent cover story. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for her as a person, but also as an artist. And so I hope that sort of that kind of thing shines through on camera between Carm and Syd. Syd is always able to…I don’t know, to deliver something different to Carmy, and she’s usually right. And I guess I think Ayo is also usually right.”

For her part, Edebiri seemingly soft-launched a shift in their characters’ vibe, telling VF, “Work can be a very intimate thing and a very personal thing and a very emotional thing, and I think when you’re also in industries that are creative or creative adjacent, I think there’s something that also invokes feelings of passion. Also, boy’s got some beautiful blue eyes. You know what I mean? Those are eyes you want to project onto.”

Later in the press conference, which was also attended by fellow cast members Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Abby Elliott, Matty Matheson, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, and Ricky Staffieri, Edebiri was similarly tight-lipped about the potential for onscreen love between Sydney and Boyce’s Marcus. “No, probably not,” Edebiri replied when asked if she could tease anything about their relationship in season three. “You’ll have to watch.”

Edebiri, who makes her directorial debut with The Bear season three’s sixth episode, has previously shared that it’s “frustrating” to read fan theories fixated on a love story between Sydney and Carmy. “It’s really not our thought process when we’re making the show, and I understand it can be part of a show’s culture—but I don’t think they’re going to get what they want,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in August 2023. “I think it’s incredibly cool to have this dynamic onscreen that isn’t romantic, but that feels charged and sexy.”