Who would ever have thought true love would blossom on the set of Law & Order: SVU?
Certainly not Mariska Hargitay.
The actor has starred as Detective Olivia Benson in the crime series since its inception in 1999, spanning 24 seasons.
But it's the third season that made its mark on Hargitay and changed the course of the actor's life - because that is when she met Peter Hermann.
Watch: Broadway stars that got their start on Law & Order. Post continues after video.
Hermann made a guest appearance that season, playing defence attorney Trevor Langan.
Appearing on the The Drew Barrymore Show, Hargitay said she "was nervous" to meet Hermann, and made a joke that didn't land.
Shortly after, Hermann asked Hargitay on a date. The location for their first official meeting outside of work? Well, church of course.
She knew the fellow actor was the one for her instantly, telling People she "started sobbing" at the service.
"We went to church together, and it was like getting hit with a lightning bolt," Hargitay explained. "I just started sobbing. Peter thought I was crying because I was so moved by the service. No, it was because I was just overwhelmed, realising he was the one."
In another interview on Today With Hoda & Jenna in 2019, she said: "I cried because I was feeling something that I’d never felt before, but I kind of knew what it was and I always say people, well, you know, when you’re a little girl, your parents and your grandparents and everyone goes, 'When you’re in love, you’ll know.' And I did.
"And before I did I’d never felt that. And so when I was sitting in church, it was so hilarious, because Peter was like, 'Oh, my god, she’s so moved.'"
In 2021, Hargitay's co-star and close friend Chris Meloni told People about having the privilege of seeing things blossom between the pair.
"This is the Peter story, from my perspective," Meloni said. "He's on the show as a guest actor, and I'm looking at her, looking at him, and I'm seeing how she's acting, right? I know her, and I'm like, 'Oh boy. Here we go.' And she's just, 'Tee-hee, tee-hee, I don't even care about him or anything like that.'"
He continued, "I just thought, 'Oh my God, it's like I'm back in high school, or even grade school.' Sure enough, they start dating."
There was one day though, when Meloni remembered Hargitay came to set "sobbing" over her relationship.
"After they'd been dating a long time, she came in one day and she was crushed," he recalled. "She goes, 'Peter and I had a really deep, long conversation. We cried, and I just don't think it's going to work.' And she's sobbing, and the whole time, the [thought] bubble in my head was just: 'You'll be married within five months.' That's all I was thinking. I knew. I knew."
His prediction came true when the pair tied the knot in Santa Barbara, California, in 2004.
"We got married and we knew that it was going to be good," Hargitay said in 2019. "We sort of knew that we found the right one."
Hermann later recalled he knew he wanted to marry Hargitay after seeing how many people loved her at her birthday party.
"I actually saw Mariska with all of the people that she loved around her," he told People. "It was like seeing this person who was now in the soil… which was this abundance of people and this abundance of love and I thought, 'I want to be part of that soil.'"
During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Hargitay reflected on her relationship with Hermann.
"He's so funny and so different than anyone I've ever met," she said. "We had such a sort of beautiful getting to know each other and learning how to see each other and beautiful courtship. And here we are, 17 years married, 19 years in and still learning about each other every day."
Two years after their wedding, the pair welcomed their son, August, in June 2006. And in 2011, Hargitay and Hermann expanded their family by adopting their daughter Amaya and son Andrew within months of each other.
"I basically pulled Amaya out," Hargitay told Good Housekeeping in May 2012. "Peter and I held her, and then the birth mother and I hugged for a long time. That was profound. That was one of the most meaningful moments I’ve ever had in my life."
The actor, who is on her 24th season of Law & Order: SVU says parenting is the hardest job she's ever done.
"It’s hard. I’m not going to say it’s easy, it’s hard. I’m learning to [balance]," she told US Weekly. " I try to be super present with where I am. When I’m at work, I’m at work. When I’m with my kids, I’m with my kids."
Feature Image: Getty/Instagram @therealmariskahargitay.