Mariska Hargitay recently stepped out with her beloved spouse, Peter Hermann, and the couple posed for a picture that has fans talking online. Social media users are in awe of Hermann’s gesture toward his wife.
Hargitay and Hermann first met in 2002 when he bagged a guest-starring role on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” in which she plays Detective Olivia Benson.In a February 2021 interview, their fellow co-star Christopher Meloni, who played Detective Elliot Stabler for the first 12 seasons of the police procedural, dished on how Hargitay fell for Hermann.”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,’” recalled Meloni.Although Hargitay initially said she was not romantically interested in Hermann, she ended up dating him. One day, she arrived on set “sobbing” over her relationship with her boyfriend – whom she had been seeing for a while, said Meloni.
“She goes, ‘Peter and I had a really deep, long conversation. We cried, and I just don’t think it’s going to work,’” the Emmy Award nominee recounted during the interview.
Meloni revealed that at that moment, all he could think of was that Hargitay and Hermann would be married in “five months,” despite their stumbling block, adding:
“That’s all I was thinking. I knew. I knew.”
Hargitay & Hermann Made Fans Swoon on Their Recent Outing
The happy pair beamed while posing as Hargitay had her arm around Hermann’s arm, who could be seen holding her purse and an umbrella on the street pathway.
Meanwhile, the actress posed while holding a green jacket and balloons as she donned a black and white outfit. She captioned the post, “@thejhf,” alongside a green heart emoji.
Fans commented on the Instagram post, and many expressed they were impressed to see Hermann carrying his beautiful wife’s bag. “M always having her men carry her purse,” said one fan.Someone else asked, “Is Peter carrying your bag? Whatta man,” alongside heart eyes emoji. Another Instagram user echoed the same sentiments, writing, “Wait, is he holding your bag too?!?! Such a gentleman!! Go, Peter!”
One person gushed, “I love that Peter holds her bag,” alongside a heart-eye emoji. Meanwhile, another fan penned, “Peter brings her bag.”
Someone else exclaimed, “Ohhh lookie! It’s the reason I believe in true love still,” alongside a heart emoji. One individual commented, “Everything about this picture is perfect,” alongside a heart-eye emoji.Another social media user complimented Hargitay and Hermann, saying, “BEST COUPLE AWARD,” alongside a medal and black heart emojis.
Someone else agreed, “The most beautiful and happy couple I have ever seen.” In addition, one fan said this about the duo, “Marriage goals,” alongside a heart emoji.
Hargitay & Hermann Have Been Happily Married for Nearly Two Decades
As the “Law & Order: Organized Crime” star predicted, his co-stars Hargitay and Hermann eventually wed on August 28, 2004, in Santa Barbara after dating for three years.
In a June 2019 interview, Hargitay recalled how she also knew that Hermann “was the one.” After “SUV” filming wrapped, Hermann asked the brunette beauty out on a date – to attend church with him.
She gushed about their connection: “We went to church together, and it was like getting hit with a lightning bolt.” She became so “overwhelmed” with emotions of love that she started crying during the date.
The Emmy Award winner revealed her then-love believed she was crying because the sermon moved her, but that was not the case. She explained:
“[..] It was because I was just overwhelmed, realizing he was the one.”
Following the date, Hargitay told her closest friend about the encounter, saying, “I told her, ‘This is it. This is the man I’m going to marry.”
When she met Hermann, she was 35 years old and single, and her friends mentioned that she should go out more as no one would show up in “SUV” and ask for her hand in marriage.
Hargitay shared her reaction to her friends’ comment during an appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show,” in January 2022, saying, “I was like, ‘Oh yeah!’”
Hermann also once shared the moment he knew that California native was the woman for him. In a June 2019 interview, the actor revealed it was on Hargitay’s “40th birthday” that he saw her being surrounded by people she loved, and she stood out for him,
He further explained that he wanted to be a part of “the abundance of love” in her life, adding they got hitched, and they were both aware that it would be satisfactory and that they knew what they had found in each other.When asked to share the secret to a long-lasting marriage in a March 2018 interview, Hermann said there is none, adding, “We’re all just working through it.” The New York native also stated:
“It’s fundamentals — kindness, listen well, and fight fair.”
The Hollywood couple has been married for almost twenty years and celebrated their wedding anniversary in August 2023. Hargitay marked the milestone on her Instagram alongside a throwback picture of the lovebirds on their wedding day.
The then-newlyweds seemed to be having their first dance as the bride wore a strapless gown while the groom sported a black suit with a pink tie.
Hargitay captioned her post, “19 years. Best dance of my life. Only dance of my life.” The director and producer share three children: sons August and Andrew, and an only daughter whom they named Amaya.