“The energy is there,” Hargitay said in 2022 about Benson and Stabler’s potential for a romance on Law & Order: SVU.

Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler’s will-they-won’t-they relationship has been a point of interest in recent seasons of  Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Organized Crime. Mariska Hargitay (Benson) has been asked about the fictional couples’ relationship many times, including during a January 2022 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. Host Drew Barrymore couldn’t resist inquiring about Hargitay and Christopher Meloni‘s beloved Law & Order characters. And at the time, Hargitay had thoughts.

“We’re really trying to figure out what to do, but Olivia Benson is hurt; [Stabler] left me in a lurch for 10 years,” Hargitay said, referencing Stabler resigning from the elite SVU squad in Season 12, only to return in Season 22.

On the subject of a potential romance between Benson and Stabler, Hargitay said, “The energy is there — Olivia has been in love with him for many a year, and I think that we are slowly finding our way back to it, but I want to give him the amount of time he needs to grieve [the death of his wife] Kathy Stabler.”

Fans remember SVU Season 24’s almost-kiss between Benson and Stabler — but nothing official has happened yet. Barrymore put fans’ anticipation perfectly when she told Hargitay, “All I know is that this Earth is literally going to shake when that moment happens.”

Mariska Hargitay talks her real-life friendship with Christopher Meloni

Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay are seen on the set of ‘Law and Order: Special Victims Unit’ on March 19, 2025.

Photo: Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

During a June appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Hargitay spoke about the powerful real-life bond she shares with Meloni.

“We are just connected,” Hargitay said. “We are so close; it’s like we’ve been through the battle together. We know each other so well. We love each other so much. We respect each other so much. We connected, obviously, by living these stories and going so deep together for so many years acting. And he and I really bond over comedy; we have a very similar sense of humor.”

“And we just have — you know what it is? It’s shared perspective. It’s shorthand,” the SVU icon continued. “We are so comfortable with each other. We deeply trust each other…I will always be there for him, and that’s mutual. And we have grown together; we’ve known each other 27 years.”