Mariska Hargitay jokes about being longtime 'Law & Order' co-star Chris Meloni's 'second wife'

foxnews.com:

Actress Mariska Hargitay joked about being her longtime "Law & Order" co-star Chris Meloni's "second wife" on Monday at the red carpet for the beloved show's 24th season.

Mariska Hargitay stars as Detective Olivia Benson on "Law & Order: SVU" (Will Hart/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images) "I mean, I don't think I'll be marrying him any time soon, but I am kind of like his second wife," she told People. "Wife, therapist, bestie, sister, mother." The jokes came in response to Hargitay being accidentally listed as Meloni's wife on the actor's Wikipedia page.

Mariska Hargitay has been married to actor Peter Hermann for 18 years. (NBC) "That is awesome," Hargitay quipped. "It's kind of right in a way, isn't it?" Meloni and Hargitay are longtime co-stars.The two first met while working on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" in 1999.

Meloni left the series in 2011, though he later returned to the franchise in 2021 with his spinoff series "Law & Order: Organized Crime." Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni first starred together on "Law & Order" in 1999. (Getty) The stars' on-screen chemistry throughout the years has been so strong, in fact, that Hargitay joked about their devoted fans wanting both of their respective real-life spouses to vanish. "I think the uber fans literally want our spouses to go away," she joked, adding that "the fandom goes nuts." In real life, both Hargitay and Meloni are married.