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Law & Order is a highly successful television franchise. The franchise has had seven television series plus a revivial of the original content. Past spinoffs of the show include Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Law & Order: LA, and Law & Order True Crime. Currently, a Law & Order revival, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Law & Order: Organized Crime are on air on the NBC network.
Star of Law & Order: SVU Mariska Hargitay has a very close relationship with her co-star Christopher Meloni. The two originally starred on Law & Order: SVU together, but Meloni left the show in 2011 due to contract disputes. Meloni rejoined the Law & Order franchise in 2021 as the lead of Law & Order: Organized Crime. The two celebrities are very close, so let’s get into whether Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni ever dated.
8 Who Is Mariska Hargitay?
Mariska Hargitay SVU
Via NBC
Mariska Hargitay is the lead of the NBC television show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Hargitay has been a part of the show since it first began airing in 1999, and she holds the record for the most consecutive seasons as the same character in a primetime live-action series. The record was previously held by Law & Order: SVU alum Richard Belzer for the character of Detective Munch.
Before starting a career in acting, Hargitay competed in beauty pageants. She was crowned Miss Beverly Hills USA and went on to compete for the title of Miss California USA. She lost the pageant to the future Miss USA Julie Hayek. Before landing the role of Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU, Hargitay had brief roles in the television shows Baywatch, Freddy’s Nightmares, and more.
7 Who Is Christopher Meloni?
Christopher Meloni is the lead of the newest Law & Order spinoff Law & Order: Organized Crime. His show first began in 2021 and currently has three seasons. Before starring in the show, Meloni was a part of the NBC show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit from its creation to 2011. He left the show due to contract disputes, but returned in 2021. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2006 for his work on Law & Order: SVU.
Outside of the Law & Order television franchise, Meloni has starred in many other productions. He played Chris Keller in the HBO show Oz, and he also was the star and executive producer of the television series Happy. He has also dabbled in film, appearing in films such as Runaway Bride, 42, and Man of Steel.
6 Who Are Mariska Hargitay And Christopher Meloni’s Spouses?
mariska-hargitay-chris-meloni law and order svu romance tease
Via: NBC
Though fans of the Law & Order television franchise want Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni to be together in real life, both are actually married. It is just so hard to believe that Hargitay and Meloni can have such incredible on-screen chemistry without being together romantically off-screen. Hargitay and Meloni have certainly played into fans’ wishes, sharing many flirty pictures on social media from set.
Meloni has been married to Doris Sherman since 1995. Sherman is a production designer. Together, the two have two children, both of whom were conceived through surrogacy. Their daughter was born in 2001 and their son in 2004. Hargitay has not been married for near as long, for she met her husband on set of Law & Order: SVU. Hargitay married Peter Hermann in 2004, and they have three children, two of whom were adopted.
5 Christopher Meloni And Mariska Hargitay’s On-Screen Chemistry
Kelli Giddish Law & Order SVU with Marishka Hargitay Benson and Christopher Meloni
Via: Instar
Mariska Hargitay And Christopher Meloni first met when going through screen tests for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The show first aired in 1999, and has been a huge success for the NBC network ever since. The connection between Hargitay and Meloni was instantaneous and was a driving force on the show until Meloni was forced to step away in 2011 due to a contract dispute.
Hargitay and Meloni both agree that their on-screen and off-screen connection was effortless. Their chemistry is undeniable, and it has only grown over the years. Even after Meloni left Law & Order: SVU, the two remained good friends and active in each other’s personal lives. Their off-screen friendship made the transition back into working together in 2021 very easy.
4 How Does Mariska Hargitay Feel About Christopher Meloni?
Though Mariska Hargitay And Christopher Meloni did not work together for a decade, the two Law & Order franchise stars remained close friends over the years. Hargitay immediately knew that “meeting him was important and life-changing” upon seeing Meloni for the first time in 1999 for the screen test. Hargitay has been very open about the positive impact her co-star has had on her life.
“The birth of his first child and being privy to his amazing, solid relationship with his wife, before I had that for myself—I think that Chris and Sherman played a really big role for me, to see this really stable couple that loved each other,” Hargitay told People about Meloni. “He’s this man who is as solid as a rock, and who is that rock in his relationship.” Hargitay went on to describe her friendship with Meloni, saying he is “like family” to her.”
3 Mariska Hargitay Is Meloni’s ‘Second Wife’
Mariska Hargitay SVU
Via thedailybeast.com
Mariska Hargitay And Christopher Meloni take work-relationships to a whole new level. They are truly in each other’s lives forever, and they would not have it any other way. Their close relationship was best described when a fan changed Meloni’s Wikipedia page to call Hargitay his second wife.
“That is awesome,” Hargitay told People in reference to the alteration. “It’s kind of right in a way, isn’t it?” Though Hargitay and Meloni are married to other people, Hargitay acknowledged their close friendship by saying “I am kind of like his second wife. Wife, therapist, bestie, sister, mother.” Hargitay and Meloni certainly take fans’ wishes with grace, but they continue to honor their separate relationships. “I think uber fans literally want our spouses to go away.”
2 Christopher Meloni Jokes About Relationship With Hargitay
Chris Meloni
Mariska Hargitay is not the only one who has acknowledged the fans’ desire for a relationship with her co-star. Christopher Meloni made light of a relationship with Hargitay during an interview with Today in late 2021. The question of if they have ever dated is always asked, so Meloni and Hargitay like to have fun with it.
“For four years, and we just broke up two months ago,” Meloni joked after being asked if he and Hargitay ever crossed that line. “Don’t tell our spouses.” Hargitay acknowledged in the same interview that their relationship is very close, even if it isn’t romantic, and that it has been since the moment they met. “It was an instant, instantaneous connection that is inexplicable, that has only grown.”
Law and order svu chris and mariska
Parade
Sadly for die-hard Law & Order television franchise fans, it does not seem that Christopher Meloni And Mariska Hargitay have ever dated. Meloni was already married by the time he met Hargitay, and the two have been nothing but respectful to their relationships ever since. Though they have never dated, they are extremely good friends off-screen. So much so that Hargitay is the godmother to Meloni’s daughter.
Hargitay and Meloni were very sad when they stopped working together in 2011, but they continued to be in each other’s personal lives. They were both overjoyed when the opportunity came along for Meloni to rejoin the Law & Order franchise with his own show. The two stars view it as a gift that they get to work alongside their best friend.
