The couple, who have been married for 18 years, dressed to the nines for their evening out together

Dia Dipasupil/Getty Peter Hermann and Mariska Hargitay

Tuesday was date night for Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann.

The couple, who have been married for 18 years, glammed and suited up to attend the 2023 Whitney Gala and Studio Party at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.

Hargitay, 59, wore a metallic bronze dress featuring a colorful pattern and floaty sleeves and carried a nude clutch bag, while her husband, 55, looked dapper in a black suit and tie.

The actors, who met on the set of Law & Order: SVU when Hermann guest-starred, were all smiles as they posed for pictures at the event with their arms around each other.

It was a rare night off parenting for the duo, who share three children together — sons August, 16, and Andrew, 11, and daughter Amaya, 12.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Related:Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann’s Relationship Timeline

Hargitay welcomed August at age 42, in 2006. She and Hermann then adopted Amaya and Andrew within six months of each other in 2011.

Back in 2019, the duo exclusively opened up about the key to their long-lasting relationship in a cover story with PEOPLE.

“I never thought I would have this much laughter in my life,” said Blue Bloods star Hermann, who has also a regular role in Younger. “Not just actual laughter. But also the way that Mariska is just the embodiment of laughter — of joy.”

And according to Hermann, it is laughter that has and always will unite the couple. “It’s the way we find our way back to each other,” he explained. “It’s this fantastically, wonderfully ridiculous way that we can swing back and forth any number of times in any given day. But fundamentally we know we have the same destination.”

“We know where we’re headed, and it’s good,” he continued. “And we know we’ll get there together.”

Related:All About Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann’s 3 Kids

Dia Dipasupil/Getty Peter Hermann and Mariska Hargitay

Elsewhere in the interview, Hargitay, who has played Lieutenant Olivia Benson in Law & Order: SVU for the last 23 years, opened up about the pair’s decision to adopt.

“Having lost my mom at a young age, I then grew up with my stepmom, and I have half siblings, and so I know that families can be built in all sorts of different ways, that there isn’t just one way to create a family and that it isn’t just about biology,” she said.

“We adopted Amaya, and Andrew, I always describe it as this angel that fell out of the sky, because he was a little unexpected,” Hargitay continued.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“It’s something that happened very quickly, when adoption can take a long time. We were so beautifully and surprisingly … not because we’re not in sync, but surprisingly in sync about something so huge. So momentous.”

Meanwhile, for Hermann, the way in which he and his wife increased their brood only added to the love he has for his family of five.