“I Don’t Think It Worked:” Stabler & Benson’s Law & Order Stalled Romance Just Became More Frustrating After Chris Meloni’s Reveal

The complete lack of movement in Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler’s (Christopher Meloni) relationship in Law & Order: SVU is even more frustrating after a new update from Meloni about their love story. Law & Order: SVU‘s Benson and Stabler have had a long friendship that seemed like it might cross the line into romance during the 24th season. Unfortunately, the franchise completely dropped this storyline and the pair did not interact again until Law & Order: Organized Crime‘s season 5 premiere.

Benson and Stabler’s separation continued into Law & Order: SVU season 26. However, it seemed possible that the franchise was going to finally reverse course once Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5 began, as the second half of the season premiere featured Benson visiting Stabler in the hospital after his car was hit by a speeding truck. That said, it was hard to tease out reality from dream sequences during this crossover, and it isn’t clear whether the two will continue to interact throughout the rest of the season.

Christopher Meloni Reveals That He & Mariska Hargitay Tried Making Benson & Stabler’s Romance Happen 2 Years Ago

Meloni Doesn’t Think The Scene Worked

In a now-infamous scene during Law & Order: SVU season 24, episode 12, Benson and Stabler nearly kissed, but Benson pulled back at the last second. Soon after the episode aired, Law & Order: SVU’s Mariska Hargitay explained why the kiss didn’t happen, insinuating that Dick Wolf didn’t agree with the direction that she and Meloni wanted to take. However, Meloni offered a slightly different take via TVLine, stating that “We were attempting something. I don’t think it worked.”

Meloni refrained from speculating further on why the romance didn’t work, saying only, “But I’m not going to tell you why it didn’t work, because you all have your opinion; I know what transpired.” The most logical interpretation of his comment is that it backs up Hargitay’s claim that Wolf ultimately vetoed the idea of the kiss, leading to Benson’s on-air decision to back off from it. Thus, Benson and Stabler’s almost-kiss scene didn’t work because it wasn’t strong enough to convince Wolf to allow the romance to continue.

Why Law & Order Continues To Stall Stabler & Benson’s Romance

There Is No Agreement About Which Direction It Should Go In

There are several reasons that Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime have not moved forward with the romance story. Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5 didn’t premiere until April 2025, and there were no mentions of Stabler whatsoever while the series was off the air. This suggests that the franchise didn’t want to include the character until Law & Order: Organized Crime was ready to air.

Additionally, as Meloni pointed out in his update, there is no consensus behind the scenes about what direction this story is going in. Law & Order: SVU has had the same showrunner for three years, though that will be changing if the series is renewed. However, Law & Order: Organized Crime has had several changes in creative teams, making it difficult to decide on a direction for the procedural, including whether Benson and Stabler will move toward romance.