Mariska Hargitay and her husband, Peter Hermann, have been married since 2004.
The actors met after Peter guest-starred on an early episode of Law & Order: SVU.
The 2026 Emmys host and the actor have two sons, August and Andrew and a daughter, Amaya.
For almost three decades, fans of Law & Order: SVU have watched Mariska Hargitay bring Captain Olivia Benson to life. As the show continues to enjoy incredible success and a devoted fan base, Mariska has another special connection to SVU: It’s where she met her husband of 22 years, Peter Hermann.
To look back at the 2026 Emmy Awards host and the actor’s relationship, we need to start at the beginning. The two met in early 2002 on the set of Law & Order: SVU. The show was in its third season, and Peter was brought on to play a defense attorney in a guest-starring role.
During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show in January 2022, Mariska revealed she thought Peter was one of the best-looking men she'd ever seen.
"[I thought], 'Who is that Clark Gable, Superman guy that I need to marry today?'' she joked at the time. "I was nervous because I heard he was German and I didn't know what to do."
When Peter's time on SVU ended, he surprised Mariska by asking her on a date to a church service.
"We went to church together, and it was like getting hit with a lightning bolt," she told People in June 2019. "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."
She and Peter tied the knot in a romantic ceremony in August 2004. Two years later, the couple welcomed their first son, August, in June 2006.
"Nobody wanted to be pregnant more than me," Mariska told SELF magazine (per People) 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."
In April of 2011, Mariska and Peter adopted their daughter Amaya, and six months later in October, adopted their youngest son, Andrew.
"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!'" Mariska shared about adopting two children so close together. "We knew [Andrew] was our guy. Everything about it felt right. It felt divinely right."
Although Mariska keeps most details of life with Peter and their kids private online, the two love to show up for one another at public events. The pair also knows how to celebrate each other's wins, as folks witnessed when Peter congratulated Mariska for filming 500 episodes of SVU back in 2021.
"You astonish me," Peter paid tribute to Mariska on X (formerly Twitter) then. "We met in episode 54. Best 447 episodes of my life. Congratulations, you beautiful life force. I love you."
So, what is the secret to Mariska and Peter's long-standing marriage? According to Mariska, it has to do with taking time to listen.
"My husband is a great listener and an extremely thoughtful person, and he's taught me so much about that," she told E! News in June 2026. "And so if there is ever a disagreement or an argument or we get scared or tight, I know that he will always think about it or what I said, and so now I'm like that. If we disagree on something, I really will try to understand what he means. And so we give each other the space to have those, you know, they can be tough conversations, but to really listen and understand, because I think you get into trouble when you close down and just get mad."
Clearly, Mariska and Peter’s bond has stood the test of time—and she made sure fans knew what she truly thinks of him.
“God I love him,” she wrote on Instagram after her two Emmy Award wins in September 2026.
We love this!
