- Jeanine and Gregory finally kissed on a February episode of "Abbott Elementary."
- Things since then have been a bit awkward between the two coworkers.
After more than a season and a half of awkwardly adorable exchanges, "Abbott Elementary" fans went wild when Gregory and Janine finally shared a steamy, drunken kiss at a work conference, but star Sheryl Lee Ralph isn't so sure it was the right move.
"Should it have happened? I don't know about that," Ralph told Insider from the PaleyFest red carpet on Saturday before speaking to a crowd of fans alongside cast members Tyler James Williams, Lisa Ann Walter, and William Stanford Davis during a screening and panel for the hit ABC comedy inside Hollywood's Dolby Theatre.
The Emmy-winning ABC series follows a documentary crew capturing the lives of teachers at an underfunded Philadelphia school.
On season two, episode 16, "Teacher Conference," which aired in February, Gregory went in for a kiss as the two bonded in a romantic floral classroom. After pulling back, Janine (Quinta Brunson) grabbed a hold of his conference lanyard and pulled him back in for a second kiss.
However, instead of bringing the two together, the kiss has since complicated the friendship between the coworkers, becoming a topic of workplace conversation with coworkers teasing their obvious attraction toward one another.
It also didn't help that Janine was dating Gregory's friend, Mo, at the time it occurred.
On a March 15 episode, "Festival," Erica (Brooklyn Bailey) asked Gregory if he's fine just "being friends" with Janine. Though Gregory said yes, his face appeared to say otherwise.
When Insider asked Williams on the PaleyFest red carpet what's going on in Gregory's head when it comes to Janine, he said, "I think it's one of those situations that is incredibly complicated and he loses a lot of sleep over it at night."
"Do you want to have a relationship with your coworker?" Williams said of the internal monologue in Gregory's head. "Do I want to cross that line here and push this issue and then possibly ruin this?"
Williams added that if Gregory pursues a relationship with Janine, and it doesn't work out, it could potentially cause a lot of negative complications.
"Then I got to transfer schools," Williams said, adding, "There's a whole thing there. So I think that's the back and forth, which is, I would love to do this, but it would be so much easier to just not."
Ralph told Insider she doesn't think it makes sense for Gregory and Janine to get together until the two do some soul searching of their own first.
"Each one of them needs to get into therapy with themselves before they come together because when they come together again, I want them to stay together," Ralph said.
Ralph later echoed that sentiment to the PaleyFest crowd, adding that Gregory has "got daddy issues" and Janine has "mommy issues and sister issues."
Fans waiting for more Gregory and Janine scenes won't have to wait too long.
"There are like two Janine and Gregory moments this season that I really love… That one and one more that's coming," Williams said to cheers from the PaleyFest crowd.
There are only three episodes left in the season. The PaleyFest crowd previewed the series' upcoming April 5 episode, "Educator of the Year." The moment Williams' teased doesn't appear to be in that episode.
The following week, viewers will be introduced to Janine's mom. It was announced at PaleyFest that Taraji P. Henson will join the show in the coveted role.
"Abbott Elementary" airs Wednesdays on ABC.