Hargitay has a brief but lovely scene with her IRL husband, Peter Hermann, on the show in Season 16 — and they’re all smiles!
Mariska Hargitay met her husband, Peter Hermann, on the set of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit back in 2002. He has a recurring role on the series as Defense Attorney Trevor Langan, appearing in 35 episodes to date. Typically, Langan and Hargitay’s character, Olivia Benson, are at odds because he’s defending the perps she’s trying to put behind bars. But in Season 16, Episode 23 (“Surrendering Noah”), the two have a very rare, sweet scene that shows their chemistry both as actors and real-life partners.
It’s a brief interaction occurring right as the episode starts. Langan is helping Benson on the legal side as she seeks to make her adoption of baby Noah official and permanent. He’s present at her apartment for the final walk-through with a social worker who will determine whether or not Benson is fit to be a parent. After giving Benson some tips about baby-proofing her place and making sure she’s singing to Noah at night, the social worker ultimately gives a last stamp of approval. With her positive recommendation, Benson will become Noah’s legal parent.
After walking the social worker out, Benson turns around and smiles ear to ear at Langan, who can’t help but beam right back at her. They look at each other with a palpable, magnetic feeling of joy that leaps off the screen. It’s such a thrill to watch.
“That’s great, Olivia!” Langan says, to which Benson smiles even bigger before asking, “What’s next?”
What’s next for Benson in this moment is continuing the process of formally adopting Noah (which, of course, comes with a major hiccup in the form of Johnny D., as fans remember). What’s next for Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann here is even more years of marital bliss — which still continues today. In fact, the actress just celebrated her 60th birthday with a surprise party thrown by Hermann.
“It was so magical and spectacular,” Hargitay said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon about the party. “And the highlight was each one of my children sang to me…I didn’t know about it! My kids don’t sing. They’ve never sang in public, so I had no idea. This was such a surprise!”
