Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann have been married since 2004. 

Over 20 years ago, Mariska Hargitay’s love story with her husband Peter Hermann began on the set of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. While he didn’t make a cameo as Olivia Benson’s love interest, he sure made her heart flutter.

Mariska Hargitay remembers how she felt meeting her husband for the first time

Hargitay and Hermann first met in 2002 while filming Season 3, Episode 11 (“Monogamy”) of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Hermann made a guest appearance as defense attorney Trevor Logan — and quite the impression on his future wife.

“My knees getting weak,” Hargitay told Entertainment Tonight in June 2024 when asked what she remembers most about the day she met Hermann. “It’s so amazing. It’s so amazing.”

Hermann’s character has appeared in over 30 episodes since. But shortly after filming his very first appearance on SVU, Hermann asked Hargitay on a date. She accepted and told People she was “overwhelmed” by her feelings for Hermann that she started crying during their first date.

“We went to church together, and it was like getting hit with a lightning bolt,” she told the magazine in 2019. “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, realizing he was the one.”

Mariska Hargitay and husband, Peter Hermann. Photo: Getty Images

The SVU star has described their romance as “love at first date.” Even her longtime co-star Christopher Meloni knew they were end-game. “This is the Peter story, from my perspective,” Meloni told People in 2021. “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.'”

And just a few years later, Hargitay and Hermann got married in 2004 in Santa Barbara, California. Hermann told InStyle he recited his vows to his bride “so loudly you could have heard them in Oregon.” Since then, they’ve become parents to their three children: sons August and Andrew and daughter Amaya.

Mariska Hargitay says her marriage to Peter Hermann “just keeps getting better”

After two decades of marriage, Hargitay shared during an appearance on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna that she’s continued to grow and learn from her husband.

“I’m at a point in my life where it just keeps getting better with him. And marriage is not always like this,” Hargitay said in January 2024. “Or any relationship that is deep and matters. But, you know, I have learned so much.”

Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann at the inaugural Gotham TV Awards held at Cipriani 25 Broadway on June 4, 2024 in New York City. Photo: John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images

Indeed, Hargitay told E! News there’s always something new to learn about her other half. “Peter is such a deep and soulful human,” she said in January 2024. “I just love getting to know him on a deeper level. And so there’s always more.”