‘Law & Order SVU’: Mariska Hargitay Couldn’t Have Love Interests With Chris Meloni on the Show
Law & Order SVU went through a bit of a transition period after Chris Meloni left. The actor’s sudden departure allowed the series to explore one particular storyline with Mariska Hargitay that she couldn’t with Meloni in the picture.
Chris Meloni’s exit let Mariska Hargitay have love interests in ‘Law & Order SVU’
The complexion of Law & Order and its characters shifted a little bit after Meloni’s unexpected departure from the show. Hargitay spoke at length about how devastated she was after she lost her co-star, so much so she considered leaving the show, too. But Hargitay’s Olivia Benson was met with new challenges and stories that convinced the actor to remain on the series. This included getting to know a brand new cast of actors and characters.
“This new cast came on and I had no idea what to expect — and we had a new showrunner,” she once told The Hollywood Reporter. “The show this year is awesome and different and has gone into different areas and I get to play different things.”
A couple of those characters, Harry Connick Jr. and Andre Braugher, presented a chance for Hargitay’s Olivia to explore the dating scene. Connick and Braugher were both brought on board the show as attorneys who’d be Hargitay’s love interests. The fact Hargitay would be paired with these men after Meloni left the show was no coincidence, however. The actor confided that there was no way her character could’ve had a love interest with Elliot Stabler still in her life.
“With Elliot Stabler’s departure, that was the only way she could have a relationship,” she said. “There was no room for a man in her life because of their connection.”
Mariska Hargitay once shared what she thought a date between Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson would be like
Hargitay and Meloni being a potential item is nothing new given the chemistry that they shared. The show, however, intentionally fueled hopes that they would end up together. They’ve been playing around with the idea for decades when Meloni was a part of the SVU team. Even after Meloni’s most recent return, the series still can’t resist playing with the stars’ romantic fire from time to time. In one episode of Organized Crime, there was an instance where the two characters got too close for comfort.
Given the place where Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler are, a romantic relationship seems as likely as ever. In a fairly recent interview with People, Hargitay confided that she and Meloni’s characters definitely loved each other. But their feelings were too complicated to simply be categorized as romantic.
“These two people love each other, they have been family to each other but he just lost his wife and no matter how she feels about him, the most important thing for him is to grieve his wife, heal from that,” Hargitay said. “And he’s in a new job and he’s sort of unbalanced … But what we do know is that Olivia loves him, will always love him, will always be there and they have a bond like no other.”
At the same time, Hargitay didn’t rule out the possibility. When asked about what their first date might be like, Hargitay felt the two would just go to an easygoing dinner.
“It’s a lot of pressure. I don’t even know the answer to that. It makes me nervous just thinking about it,” she quipped. “Let’s just go out to dinner, let’s start there.”
Meloni also chimed in, sharing that he’d want his and Hargitay’s characters to come together in an organic, natural way.
“I just think that it really has to be a natural aspect of Elliot’s back and in town and especially how he left and their radio silence over all these years, you have to answer these questions and figure out how they inhabit the same space,” he said.
