Mariska Hargitay Reacts to Chris Meloni’s Surprise “Love You” Line in ‘Law & Order: SVU’ Premiere

Mariska Hargitay may play a captain on Law & Order: SVU, but she’s also the captain of the Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler ship.

After years of partnership, heartbreak, and near-misses, Hargitay is finally weighing in on the duo’s relationship following the emotional reunion that closed out the SVU Season 27 premiere on Sept. 25.

In the episode, Benson (Hargitay) and Stabler (Chris Meloni) come together to mourn the death of their former boss and mentor, Capt. Donald Cragen (Dann Florek). As the two share a quiet moment by Benson’s car, Stabler opens the door, looks at her, and says, “Love you. Night.”

Turns out, that wasn’t in the script.

After the episode aired, Meloni revealed on X that he ad-libbed the “love you.” During an Oct. 11 appearance on Saturday TODAY, Hargitay confirmed it — and couldn’t resist teasing him a bit.

“He just threw that in,” she said of Meloni’s impromptu line. “Oh yes he did.”

When co-host Laura Jarrett remarked, “That kind of feels like something that needs approval,” Hargitay quipped, “And yet, there was none.”

But that’s not where the surprises ended.

Alexander pressed Hargitay on what she felt in that moment, and her answer only deepened the intrigue. “It was true,” she said. “And we do love each other.”

She then revealed that she was originally supposed to deliver the line. “We did it both ways,” she explained. “And so, what happened was, is we did it with and without, you know, this is the line that we’re always trying to navigate and keep it nuanced.”

According to Hargitay, when they filmed the version where Benson didn’t say it, “Chris did it.” She added, “And I think it’s because he just felt that was the truth of the scene.”

Hargitay went on to describe the scene as “deeply emotional,” given the loss of Cragen — their “North Star.”

“It’s also the beginning of a new era, and the end of an old one,” she said. “I felt like he just needed to say it.”

Then came the kicker: “Besides, Stabler’s in love with Benson. Hello!”

While showrunner Dick Wolf has historically been cautious about taking the relationship past flirtation — telling The L.A. Times, “When did Moonlighting become unwatchable?” — both Meloni and Hargitay seem open to more. Meloni recently told Entertainment Tonight he did his “darndest to get us to the line and over.”

“But nope, they wouldn’t go for it,” he said.

The new season of SVU marks a fresh start in more ways than one. Season 27 is the first led by showrunner Michele Fazekas, who previously wrote for the series and co-wrote the premiere.

On Saturday TODAY, Hargitay praised Fazekas, as well as co-stars Kelli Giddish and Aimé Donna Kelly, for bringing “very powerful female energy” to the long-running series.

“It’s very exciting, because sometimes it’s hard for me to sort of take in that I’ve been doing the show for 27 years,” she said. “But this year, it just has this renewed energy.”