Meloni and Hargitay had instant chemistry at their auditions for SVU; Meloni once said, according to E!, "[Hargitay] and I hit it off right from the get-go."
According to the 2009 book Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Unofficial Companion, Hargitay once recalled, "It was nonstop chitchat; couldn't stop talking. All of a sudden someone comes out and pairs us up: 'Mariska and Chris.
Meloni echoed the sentiment.
"I'm like, 'Who's the chick with all the energy?' I just knew that Mariska was going to be The One," he said. "I was in the middle of telling her this story, this joke. So we got up on the stage and I'm like, 'Hold on just a second, I'm going to finish telling this story. Not being disrespectful, but this is important too.
Hargitay described Benson and Stabler's relationship as "very complicated."
"Sometimes it's very much like brother and sister, and I think the reason that they're so close is that they share a passion for their jobs and for the people," she told MSN in 2009.
AS SVU viewers know, Benson has had quite a few short-lived romances throughout the series, while Stabler was married to wife Kathy, with whom he shares five children, since they were both 17 years old.
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