Adoption is difficult for everyone, even superstars. Mariska Hargitay, the queen of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and her husband Peter Hermann knew they wanted a big family when they were ready to start a family.
However, none of them knew if she would have another successful pregnancy when she gave birth to their first child at the age of 42. As a result, the couple was open to adoption, which Hargitay had thought of since she was a young girl.
“I was just letting the chips fall where they may since I believe so much is in God’s hands.” ‘I have no idea how this will turn out,’ I always said. I’m not sure if I’ll get pregnant and have twins. I don’t know…,” she told Good Housekeeping, In 2012.
“If a baby is going to be left on my doorstep.’ But I truly believed that Peter and I would adopt a child in the future. That was always the intention.”
They had no idea their third kid would almost fall right into their lap.
Hargitay and Hermann married in 2004 after meeting on the set of SVU. August, the couple’s first child together, was born in 2006.
“August has completely transformed my life!” “I think everything in life means more to me now that I’m a mom later in life,” she previously told Traveling Mom. “Every day gets richer, deeper, and more soulful.”
Hargitay, who had August at 42, said she believed she had her son at the right time.
God, I believe, has His timing. Things happen when they’re supposed to happen, in my opinion, and you have to think that. August, together with Peter, is without a doubt the best thing that has ever happened to me. There are no words to describe the emotions and highs I’m experiencing. This is the first time I’ve ever had an encounter like this.
The Oscar winner and her husband loved spending time with their kid, but he began requesting a sister after a few years. In addition, the two stars were eager to expand their family.
The couple hired an attorney and started the adoption process. They made it through a grueling five-hour home visit, only to have multiple false starts.
However, the pair eventually met a young woman expecting a girl. Hargitay, who described the adoption effort as “probably about the third,” wanted to make sure the young pregnant mother wanted to give up her kid for adoption.
She developed a friendship with the woman, and they both believed Hargitay and Hermann would be a good fit.
“She only met me; she didn’t meet anyone else.”
Everything had been going swimmingly until now. Hargitay was present during the baby’s birth, and she and her husband were able to take their daughter, whom they had already named, home with them. The long and short of it is that the birth mother changed her mind,” says the author.
“It was nothing short of a total devastating.”
Hargitay and Hermann continued to work with their lawyer and social worker despite what could have been. Finally, they found a woman who impressed everyone.
Hargitay said, “It was almost too good to be true.”
The Black birth mother assured the couple that she believed she was making the correct decision.