Together again! Mariska Hargitay reunited with her former Law & Order: SVU costar Christopher Meloni for a special occasion over the weekend: Meloni’s birthday.
The actress, 53, took to Instagram Sunday, April 2, to share a pic of herself with her former onscreen partner, who turned 56 that day. In the photo, Meloni wears a white cap and striped shirt as he embraces Hargitay and leans his head against hers.
“Happy birthday @chris_meloni,” she captioned the sweet snap.
She posted two more pictures on Twitter, including one of herself laughing while kissing Meloni’s cheek. “What?” she tweeted.
Happy Birthday pic.twitter.com/EvNVsBi7o3
— Mariska Hargitay (@Mariska) April 2, 2017
What? pic.twitter.com/lYGywuftM8
— Mariska Hargitay (@Mariska) April 2, 2017
The actor responded with a photo of his own, which he also captioned, “What?” In it, their roles are reversed, and he smiles while kissing Hargitay’s cheek.
What? pic.twitter.com/LJaY3UYne2
— Chris Meloni (@Chris_Meloni) April 2, 2017
The two stars appeared together on Law & Order: SVU for 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011. Meloni left unexpectedly after season 12, leaving Hargitay’s Olivia Benson without her longtime partner, Elliot Stabler.
Fans of the show wanted Benson and Stabler to end up together, but Meloni told James Lipton in 2016 that he thought it would have been “the death knell of that relationship.”
“[We] needed to keep that line taut but very clear,” he said on Inside the Actor’s Studio. “Keep the tension — never cross it.”
