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Hit NBC crime procedural "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" focuses more on its characters' work than their romances, much to the dismay of all the out there. But the personal lives of the record-breaking TV show — which became the longest-running live-action primetime series in American television history in 2019 — seem far more romantic (via ). For example, has been married to a certain TV actor and frequent "SVU" guest star since the early 2000s. And her longtime costar Christopher Meloni, the Stabler to her Benson, has been living in matrimony even longer.
Other "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" stars and alums, meanwhile, are married to actors, artists, and former classmates. One "SVU" spouse is a TV producer, and another is a former reality star. And collectively, the cast has so many kids that one "SVU" crew member quipped that the show is the "most fertile drama there is." Read on for the details on the cast's offscreen relationships.
Mariska Hargitay, who has since day one of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," met husband Peter Hermann when he started playing defense attorney Trevor Langan on the show.
After the outing, Hargitay told a close friend that Hermann was the man she was going to marry, and she was right. The duo traded vows in 2004, and they've since welcomed three kids: sons August and Andrew and daughter Amaya.
Hermann still pops up on "SVU" from time to time, but these days, he's best known for playing love interest Charles Brooks on the Paramount+ comedy "." He's also the author of the 2018 children's book "."
, who played Elliot Stabler of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and returned in 2021 as a special guest star, revealed his and his wife's origin story in a 2006 interview. As he explained it, he was working on an "immensely forgettable" HBO series in Los Angeles in 1989 when production designer Sherman Williams pulled up on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, sporting short, bleached hair.
But Williams had a boyfriend at the time, and she and Meloni wouldn't start dating until years later. Williams told YourTango that she knew he was serious about her when he had the concrete steps in front of his house cut "so I could get my cycle onto his lawn." The couple married in 1995, according to , and they have two children: daughter Sophia and son Dante.
Williams' include art direction on the 1986 film "Platoon" and production design on the 1994 film "The Chase." When asked about the secrets to their relationship, she told YourTango that they have "space, respect, trust, and freedom" as a couple.
Ice-T, the actor and rapper behind "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" character Odafin "Fin" Tutuola, married Nicole "Coco" Austin in 2002 after meeting the model on a movie set, as her explained. And the duo welcomed their first child, a daughter named Chanel, in 2015 (per ).
As Ice-T told in 2011, he "absolutely" had lust at first sight when he met Austin, but he was looking for something more than physical attraction at the time, and he wasn't sure she was ready for a domestic life.
From 2011 to 2013, the took E! viewers inside their New Jersey home on the reality series "," which showed their life away from the spotlight. "We have two lives together," Austin explained. "We have the crazy relationship life where we go out, we party, and we have fun together as a couple. Then, when we come home, we relax. We play video games together, we watch DVDs together. We're very homey people that just like to chill."
Kelli Giddish, who has played Amanda Rollins on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" , is married to Lawrence Faulborn, an artist who has even commissioned murals of her character in New York City, according to . The duo tied the knot in a 2015 ceremony in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, according to . And later that year, Giddish and Faulborn welcomed their first child, a son named Ludo, with the actress' "SVU" costar Ice-T breaking the news on .
In 2018, Faulborn introduced the world to their second child, a son named Charlie.
Peter Scanavino, who has played Dominick Carisi Jr. on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" , has two kids with wife Lisha Bai. In fact, they welcomed their second kid just after Coco Austin had her first child with Ice-T and Kelli Giddish had her first child with Lawrence Faulborn, according to . On , "SVU" showrunner Warren Leight joked that the NBC procedural was the "most fertile drama there is" and used the hashtag "#SVUNursery."
According to her , Bai got her BFA in painting from Washington University in St. Louis in 2001 and her MFA in painting and printmaking from Yale University four years later.
Scanavino hyped up his "darling's work" on in 2019 when she had her work featured in the New Art Dealers Alliance's NADA Miami show.
Before Richard Belzer played John Munch in the
Belzer, who was previously married to Gail Susan Ross and Dalia Danoch, met McBride on a blind date in 1981, according to a 1993 . At the time, she was a Playboy model best known for playing the lead role in the X-rated 1977 film She too was previously married, and she had teenage two daughters. "Richard softened me a lot," McBride revealed.
For his part, Belzer said that he learned about parenthood from McBride, telling the magazine, "Harlee taught me that loving a child is unconditional, no matter how bad they are."
Dann Florek — who played his "" character, Donald Cragen, in of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" – is married to Karen Florek.
Dann also said that it's Karen who keeps the "law and order" in their household. "I have 10 things going on at once, so she can focus better," he explained. "The animals, though, dictate what needs to go on in the house."
According to her
Michelle Hurd, who played Monique Jeffries on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" , has a famous husband: Garret Dillahunt, who starred as John Dorie on the AMC zombie drama "Fear the Walking Dead.
Dillahunt as Francis Wolcott on "Deadwood," Burt Chance on "Raising Hope," Keith "KD" Dennison on "Hand of God," and Dr. Jody Kimball-Kinney on "The Mindy Project.
Stephanie March, who played ADA Alexandra Cabot across of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" between 2000 and 2018, married tech investor and Andor Capital founder Dan Benton in 2017, as reported at the time. March's friend and fellow Rouge Makeup Salons co-founder Rebecca Perkins told the magazine that she had "never seen [March] as happy or as beautiful" as she was on her wedding day and that it was an "absolutely picture-perfect ceremony.
According to , Benton worked as vice president of Goldman Sachs and president of Pequot Capital earlier in his career. He founded Andor in 2001 but closed the fund in 2016. These days, he's managing the private family office Benton Capital Management. He's also a board trustee for Colgate University, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Horace Mann School, the site reports.
March was previously married to celebrity chef Bobby Flay. She and Flay wed in 2005, having met when he helped her nab a dinner reservation, but they split in 2015, according to . Later that year, they said in to the magazine that they had reached "an amicable divorce settlement.
BD Wong, who appeared on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" as Dr. George Huang from, married Richert Schnorr in 2018 after meeting at a 2010 singles mixer arranged by a dating website, according to a wedding announcement in.
At the time of the wedding, Schnorr, a Sarah Lawrence graduate, was the director of digital media for the New York Public Library; there he helped raise more than $200 million and helped add more than 100,000 new Instagram followers for the library system, according to
Wong was previously in a long-term relationship with agent Richie Jackson, according to . In 2000, Wong and Jackson welcomed twin sons through a surrogate, Boaz Dov and Jackson Foo. Sadly, Boaz died shortly after childbirth as a result of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, the magazine reported. Schnorr paid tribute to both Wong and his son Jackson in a 2020, writing, "Happy Father's Day to @wongbd, who raised one heck of a young man. Love you both!"
Adam Beach, who starred on of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" as Chester Lake, is married to Summer Tiger. Tiger is a Seminole Tribe of Florida member who has a master's degree in clinical psychology, as Beach revealed in a 2017 . In that essay, both husband and wife criticized Hollywood's practice of casting non-Native performers in Native roles. "Hollywood profits off of telling our stories, using us as backdrops in their white savior narratives, sending the message to our people that we are disposable," Tiger wrote.
That same year, the couple told magazine that they were working on a script called "Sacred" about the disproportionately high suicide rate in Native American and First Nation communities. "This will be a story of both horror and hope," Tiger explained.
Beach and Tiger also team up to support Native filmmakers at the actor's Adam Beach Film Institute in Winnipeg, Manitoba, according to the magazine.
Michaela McManus, who played "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" character Kim Greylek from, married TV writer and producer Mike Daniels in 2011, according to . They welcomed their son Gabriel and their child Declan .
Daniels is the creator of the 2019 NBC series a drama centering on a "bonded family of friends and neighbors" in a New York City apartment building, as the network described in . McManus starred in the series as nurse and single mom Sarah. Additionally, according to his , Daniels also served as a writer of "One Tree Hill;" a co-producer of ";" a producer of "Pan Am;" a co-executive producer of "Sons of Anarchy," "Shades of Blue," "Taken," and "The Brave;" and a consulting producer of "Bluff City Law.
Daniels waxed romantic about McManus in a 2020 as they celebrated nine years of marriage. "Thank you for making my life whole and happy; a place where against every odd and despite being wholly unworthy, I get to witness your lightning strike each and every day," he wrote.
Danny Pino, the actor behind longtime "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" character Nick Amaro, married wife Lilly Pino in 2002. However, he actually met her nearly 13 years prior when they were middle-school classmates, as he revealed in a 2019
The duo have two kids together — sons Luca, born in 2006, and Julian, born the following year — and Danny said that his wife and kids are the "most important thing in [his] life" and that coming home to them is always a blessing. When Julian was born in 2007, Danny's rep told that the actor was "thrilled beyond belief."
Danny also shared that he and Lilly keep their relationship strong. "It takes work," he explained. "So even on days you don't necessarily feel like you want to follow through with things, it's important to make the effort, to show that you're there and you care, to try to understand what's going on.
Danny Pino isn't the only "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" alum to marry a former classmate. Philip Winchester, who both on that show and on "Chicago Justice," is married to high school sweetheart Megan Coughlin, according to . The future husband and wife grew up in the town of Belgrade, Montana, and got hitched in 2008, according to the site.
It was Coughlin who brought Winchester back to reality after he spent four weeks filming the first season of the Cinemax action drama "Strike Back" in South Africa, as he told in 2015. "My wife looked at me one day, and she said, 'It's nice to have you home, Philip.' And I was like, 'What are you talking about, babe?' And she said, 'You haven't been 'Philip' since you started shooting 'Strike Back.' You've been so intense — checking everything out wherever you go, looking over your shoulder when we go to a restaurant."
Winchester and Coughlin have two girls together, per : Their daughter Charlie was born in 2015, and their next daughter, whose name Winchester later revealed was Jaymes, entered the world in 2019.
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