Mariska Hargitay is back in a new season of the hit crime series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, in which she’s starred as Olivia Benson for 25 years.
But viewers might be surprised to learn that the 61-year-old’s husband is pretty famous himself – and TV fans will definitely recognise him. Keep reading to find out more.
© Getty ImagesMariska’s famous husband Peter Hermann
Mariska’s husband is fellow actor Peter Herrman, who Law & Order: SVU fans will recognise as Trevor Langen. The actor, 57, appeared in a total of 33 episodes.
He’s also known for playing Charles Brooks on Younger, Jack Boyle on Blue Bloods and Dr Michael Burke on the soap opera Guiding Light, which was actually his debut TV role.
More recently, he portrayed George Campbell in season two of the Sex and the City spin-off, And Just Like That…
© L. BusaccaMariska and Peter’s love story
The couple first crossed paths in 2001 on the set of Law & Order: SVU when Peter guest-starred in season three.
Speaking about the first time they met on set, Mariska told InStyle: “I just about passed out when I saw him there. I thought: ‘That’s my husband.'”
After filming wrapped on Peter’s guest appearance, the actor invited Mariska to a church service and she knew there and then that he was the one.
“We went to church together, and it was like getting hit with a lightning bolt,” she said on The Drew Barrymore Show. “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.”
Peter popped the question on Mariska’s 40th birthday. Reflecting on the joyous moment, he told PEOPLE in 2019: “I actually saw Mariska with all of the people that she loved around her, 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.’ “
© GettyMariska and Peter’s wedding
In 2004, Mariska and Peter tied the knot at the Unitarian Historical Chapel in Santa Barbara, California in front of 200 guests.
Mariska later told PEOPLE: “We got married and we knew that it was going to be good and I think we both knew…we found the right one. I never thought it could be this good…That I waited and married the right one and it’s better than I thought it was. Because sometimes you take a snapshot and you go, ‘I can’t believe this is my life.'”
© Jamie McCarthyMariska and Peter’s children
The couple are proud parents to three children. They welcomed their first son, August, in 2006. Five years later, in 2011, their family expanded again when they adopted a baby girl named Amaya Josephine. Less than a year later, they adopted another child, a baby boy named Andrew.
