Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann’s Relationship Timeline

Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann can credit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for their marriage.

Hargitay has been starring as Detective Olivia Benson on the hit NBC series since 1999, and the pair met during season 3 when Hermann was brought on for a guest appearance as defense attorney Trevor Langan. The duo started dating shortly after filming wrapped when Hermann asked Hargitay to accompany him to church.

After dating for two years, Hargitay and Hermann tied the knot in 2004. Two years later, they welcomed son August Miklos Friedrich, then adopted daughter Amaya Josephine and son Andrew Nicolas in 2011.

“I think there is such beauty in the divine architecture of how this family was built,” Hargitay told PEOPLE in 2019.

From meeting on SVU to their long, supportive marriage, here’s a look at Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann’s relationship.

Early 2002: Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann meet on the set of Law & Order: SVU and go on a church date

Hargitay first met Hermann when the actor was cast in a guest-starring role in season 3 of Law & Order: SVU.

Years later, Hargitay appeared on The Drew Barrymore Show, where she recalled that her first thought after seeing Hermann on set was, “Who is that Clark Gable, superman guy that I need to marry today?” When the pair were introduced, the actress admitted that she “was nervous,” so she tried making a joke to break the ice, but it didn’t really land.

Shortly after wrapping up his season 3 guest appearance, Hermann asked Hargitay to attend a church service with him. The actress later told PEOPLE that she knew right away Hermann was the man she was going to marry.

“We went to church together, and it was like getting hit with a lightning bolt,” she said. “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.”

August 28, 2004: Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann get married

After about two years of dating, Hargitay’s prediction came true when the couple tied the knot in Santa Barbara, California, in 2004.

“We got married and we knew that it was going to be good,” the actress later told PEOPLE in 2019. “We sort of knew that we found the right one.”

Hermann recalled deciding to get hitched after witnessing the warmth surrounding Hargitay on her 40th birthday.

“I actually saw Mariska with all of the people that she loved around her,” he told PEOPLE. “It was like seeing this person who was now in the soil… which was this abundance of people and this abundance of love and I thought, ‘I want to be part of that soil.’ “

June 28, 2006: Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann welcome their first son

Less than two years after their wedding, Hargitay and Hermann welcomed son August Miklos Friedrich.

“Nobody wanted to be pregnant more than me,” Hargitay later told SELF magazine in 2007. “From the minute I found out, I was wearing full-on maternity pants. My stomach was totally flat, mind you, but I was just so excited.”

August 27, 2006: Mariska Hargitay thanks Peter Hermann onstage after winning an Emmy Award

In August 2006, Hargitay won her first Emmy Award for her role in Law & Order: SVU. During her acceptance speech, she thanked Hermann and their new baby.

“When I named my son August, I had no idea that the month would end like this!” she joked onstage. “Thank you so much … to my husband, who gave me the greatest gift in the world.”

April 2011: Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann adopt daughter Amaya Josephine

In April 2011, the couple expanded their family when they adopted a baby girl, Amaya Josephine.

“I’m deliriously happy,” Hargitay told PEOPLE. “From the minute she was born, she was just surprisingly alert and so full of love.”

She added that they were “considering both international and domestic adoption” and were “thrilled that this is the way our prayers were answered.” She continued, “We talked a lot about mixed-race adoptions, and we are very excited that we are now a multi-racial family. We’re just so happy she’s here.”

The couple’s son, August, was also excited to have a new sibling in the house. “He is over the moon,” Hargitay said at the time. “He calls her his baby because he says the whole thing was his idea. He always talks about how he’s going to protect her. He’s going to be a great big brother.”

October 2011: Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann adopt son Andrew Nicolas

The Hargitay-Hermann brood became a family of five when the couple adopted son Andrew Nicolas in October 2011, just four months after welcoming Amaya.

“We never in a million years thought it would happen this quickly, but something inside of us knew that this was right, and we said, ‘Yes, yes, yes!’ ” Hargitay said. “We knew this was our guy. Everything about it felt right. It felt divinely right.”

While having two babies in the house can be chaotic, the SVU star said Amaya and Andrew bonded right away. “They’ll lie in the crib together, and she’ll hold his hand and put her arm around him,” she said. “She’s already so protective of him.”

November 8, 2013: Mariska Hargitay attends Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony with Peter Hermann and their kids

Hargitay brought her family along when she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in November 2013. She then praised them during her emotional speech.

“Thank you … to August and to Amaya and to Andrew,” she said. “I know one day you will grow into an understanding of how brightly the three of you shine into me and daddy’s life. And to Peter, you’re too good to be true.”

November 1, 2015: Mariska Hargitay shares first family Halloween costume picture

 

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The day after Halloween in 2015, Hargitay shared a picture of her entire family — who has since become known for crushing the group costume game — out trick-or-treating in costume.

The crew rocked head-to-toe outfits inspired by the movie Inside Out. Hargitay, dressed as the character Joy, added themed hashtags to the caption, writing, “#SquadGoals #SadnessFearJoyDisgustAnger #EmotionalFamily #FamiliesThatHalloweenTogetherStayTogether #MyJOYfulHearts.”

January 12, 2016: Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann attend the Younger season 2 premiere

At the season 2 premiere of Hermann’s show Younger, the couple looked cozy as they walked the red carpet together and posed for pictures.

“I am here with my beautiful wife,” Hermann said, adding that he and Hargitay had enjoyed a “fantastic” holiday vacation with their three kids. “I think they’re at that age where everything kind of feels like a milestone,” he said. “It’s great.”

January 13, 2016: Peter Hermann joins Twitter and credits Mariska Hargitay

In January 2016, Hermann joined Twitter and revealed that Hargitay was the one who pushed him to make an account. “Thank you @mariska for finally getting me to do this!” he tweeted.

“Me and my Twitter guide!” he added in a follow-up tweet, along with a sweet selfie of himself and his wife.

September 15, 2017: Peter Hermann revels in getting recognized before Mariska Hargitay

As the popularity of Younger hit its fever pitch in September 2017, Hermann started getting recognized just as often as his wife, thanks to his leading role on the show.

“I was just in Italy, and we were walking with my whole family, and people stopped Mariska to tell her how much they love SVU,” Hermann told PEOPLE. “And then after this group came over, and I get ready to take their camera, and they said, ‘Are you Peter? Are you on Younger?’ It was so great!”

February 20, 2018: Mariska Hargitay celebrates Peter Hermann’s children’s book

In February 2018, Hermann — who plays book publisher Charles Brooks on Younger — published his first children’s picture book, If the S in Moose Comes Loose.

His wife congratulated him in an Instagram post, sharing a picture of the smiling new author holding up his book.

“As the wordsmith himself puts it, this book is a ‘Madcap spelling romp’… who says that? Only my brilliant husband,” Hargitay wrote in the caption. “My brilliant AUTHOR husband, whom I’m so ‘ridiculously excited + very proud’ of.”

Hermann shared with PEOPLE that he was nervous about showing the creation to his kids. “The first time that I actually read them the complete book, I think they could tell that I was hoping they would really like it,” he said. “They were like, ‘Dude, Dad, chill.’ “

March 28, 2018: Mariska Hargitay praises Peter Hermann as her “North Star”

In a March 2018 cover story for PEOPLE, Hargitay revealed that she’d become a better parent thanks to her husband and three kids. “They taught me to really listen,” she said. “My husband is my North Star, and my kids are my teachers …. Together we’re just this whole, happy, joyful, chaotic, crazy unit. I’ve never known anything that was more right.”

The Emmy-winner also credited her dynamic with Hermann for making it all come together. “Peter and I, we’re so different that it’s been amazing how we complement each other,” she explained. “He knows everything I don’t.”

June 12, 2019: Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann share the key to their long-lasting marriage

Hargitay and Hermann graced the cover of PEOPLE in June 2019 and revealed that the secret to their enduring relationship is laughter.

“I never thought I would have this much laughter in my life,” Hermann said. “Not just actual laughter, but also the way that Mariska is just the embodiment of laughter — of joy.”

“It’s the way we find our way back to each other,” he continued. “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. And we know we’ll get there together.”

The couple also got candid about their 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,” Hargitay said.

August 28, 2020: Mariska Hargitay marks 16 years with Peter Hermann on Instagram

 

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In August 2020, Hargitay posted a black-and-white photo of the pair hugging and laughing to celebrate their anniversary.

“Thank you for all your beautiful wishes for our 16th wedding anniversary,” she wrote in the caption. “In this time of so much uncertainty this sure feels good.”

November 12, 2020: Peter Hermann celebrates Mariska Hargitay ahead of SVU season 22

On the night of Law & Order: SVU’s season 22 premiere, Hermann showed support for his wife’s career on Twitter.

“Here’s looking at you @mariska!” he wrote alongside a picture of Hargitay smiling through a window frame. “Congrats on tonight’s premiere of Season 22—TWENTY-TWO!!!!—of @nbcsvu. You’re the enduring backbone, determined heart and bright, shining spirit who makes it all possible. I love you, I’m so proud of you…. and your smile just slays me. #SVU.”

October 21, 2021: Peter Hermann honors Mariska Hargitay for 500 SVU episodes

Almost one year later, Hermann celebrated Hargitay again, this time for 500 episodes of Law & Order: SVU.

“You astonish me,” he wrote on Twitter above a beach selfie of the pair. “We met in episode 54. Best 447 episodes of my life. Congratulations, you beautiful life force. I love you. #SVU.”

January 18, 2022: Mariska Hargitay says she and Peter Hermann are still learning about each other

During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Hargitay reflected on her lasting relationship with Hermann.

“He’s so funny and so different than anyone I’ve ever met,” she said. “We had such a sort of beautiful getting to know each other and learning how to see each other and beautiful courtship. And here we are, 17 years married, 19 years in and still learning about each other every day.”

August 28, 2022: Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann celebrate 18 years of marriage</h2

 

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In August 2022, the long-time couple celebrated another big milestone: their 18th anniversary. Hargitay honored the feat on Instagram, posting two black-and-white photos, including a throwback shot of the couple at their wedding.

“Eighteen years. Grateful. In love. Together,” she captioned the post.

October 29, 2022: Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann attend the Michael J. Fox Foundation gala in New York City

 

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The couple supported their friend Michael J. Fox by attending his foundation’s annual fundraiser for Parkinson’s research.

“Such a beautiful, rocking, joyful, laughter-filled night with the extraordinary @michaeljfoxorg coming together to bring an end to Parkinson’s,” Hargitay captioned a carousel of images on Instagram. “@mjfox’s strength, courage and inspiring optimism, along with the determination of the incomparable staff, combine to fuel this fight. I’m full of hope and deepest admiration.”

December 20, 2022: Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann take a family trip to Disney World

 

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Hargitay shared pictures on Instagram from her family trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. One post included a selfie from a Guardians of the Galaxy ride, featuring the actress, Hermann and their son August smiling. In another post, Hargitay held her younger son, Andrew, as they admired fireworks.

May 16, 2023: Peter Hermann and Mariska Hargitay step out for the 2023 Whitney Gala and Studio Party

Hargitay and Hermann attended the 2023 Whitney Gala and Studio Party together, where the pair smiled for photos with their arms around each other.

The actress wore a metallic bronze dress featuring a colorful pattern on the skirt, while her husband opted for a black suit and tie.

June 2023: Peter Hermann and Mariska Hargitay vacation in Italy

The couple went on vacation to Capri, Italy, where they took boat rides, relaxed in hot tubs and rode jet skis on the Mediterranean Sea.

“Amore,” Hargitay captioned a series of sweet selfies with Hermann on Instagram.

July 26, 2023: Peter Hermann and Mariska Hargitay join the SAG-AFTRA strike

Hermann and Hargitay joined the actors’ union strike picket lines in New York City. The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star wore a “SAG-AFTRA Strong” T-shirt to show her solidarity.

August 28, 2023: Peter Hermann and Mariska Hargitay celebrate 19 years of marriage

In honor of their anniversary, Hargitay shared a throwback photo on Instagram from the couple’s first dance at their 2004 wedding.

“Best dance of my life. Only dance of my life,” she captioned the image.

January 11, 2024: Mariska Hargitay calls Peter Hermann “the man of my dreams”

In a cover story interview with PEOPLE, Hargitay listed meeting Hermann as one of the big life milestones she hit later in life.

“I didn’t get cast [on SVU] until I was 35 and then the show kept going as I aged. At 45, we’d been on for ten years and I just met my husband [when Hermann had a guest role on the show.] The man of my dreams,” she said. “I got married at 40. I had August [her eldest son] at 42. So it was like defying all the odds.”