Mariska Hargitay needs a mere five words to sum up the relationship at the heart of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit . “Stabler’s in love with Benson.”

The actor discussed the dynamic between her Capt. Olivia Benson and Christopher Meloni ’s Det. Elliot Stabler in an interview on Saturday Today on Saturday, October 11. And she confirmed that Meloni ad-libbed the “Love you” in SVU ’s Season 27 premiere.

“He just threw that in. Oh, yes he did,” Hargitay said. “It was true, and we do love each other. Originally, it was scripted that I said it. And so what we did was, we did it both ways … we did it with and without. This is the line that we’re always trying to navigate and keep it nuanced. So on the take that I didn’t do it, Chris did it.”

Hargitay observed that Meloni felt

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