and share a love that .
The TV stars met in 2002, married in 2004 and have been supporting each other ever since. From praising each other's career achievements to becoming , they've been side by side since they met on the set of .
Look back on the longtime duo's love story with some of their sweetest throwback photos from their early days of power-coupledom.
Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann initially caught each other's eyes when Hermann appeared on season 3 of
. Though she was in character as Detective Olivia Benson, Hargitay couldn't help but take an interest in the guest star, as she later recalled on in 2022.
"Who is that Clark Gable, Superman guy that I need to marry today?" the actress remembered thinking when she first saw Hermann on set in 2002.
Once they were acquainted, Hermann made a move to take their relationship off set and invited Hargitay to attend church with him. Reminiscing on with PEOPLE in 2019, the actress says their connection was immediate and electric.
“We went to church together, and it was like getting hit with a lightning bolt,” she said. In fact, Hargitay was so moved by her fondness for Hermann that she burst into tears during their outing.
"Peter thought I was crying because I was so moved by the service,” the Emmy winner said. “No, it was because I was just overwhelmed, realizing he was the one.”
She was certain their chemistry would last after their emotional first date and shared her instinct with a close friend afterwards: “I told her, ‘This is it.
This is the man I’m going to marry,’ ” Hargitay recalled when she and Hermann appeared on the cover of PEOPLE to in 2019.
The California-born beauty and her beau in 2004 with a ceremony held in Santa Barbara. Wedding planner Yifat Oren called their nuptials "enchanting" and "really magical," per PEOPLE's reporting at the time.
“They’re mad about each other,” Oren said. “And they’re hilariously funny together.”
“I waited and and it’s better than I thought it was," Hargitay reflected in conversation with PEOPLE. "Because sometimes you take a snapshot and you go, ‘I can’t believe this is my life.’ "
Years later, when the Golden Globe winner received a star on the in 2013, she echoed that same sentiment in her speech. After praising, she thanked her husband: "To Peter, you're too good to be true."
The key to their long-standing love? Constant .
“I never thought I would have this much laughter in my life,” Hermann told PEOPLE in 2019. The star added, “Not just actual laughter, but also the way that Mariska is just the embodiment of laughter — of joy.”
In 2006, Hargitay and Hermann's team grew one bigger when they welcomed . In 2011, the longtime duo welcomed their daughter and another son, , by adoption.
