Mariska Hargitay had tongues wagging when she was seen doing something notable while sitting next to someone. This is the same person with whom she had an instant connection during a screen test for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”

Recently, Mariska Hargitay reunited with her former “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU)” co-star in the celebrity row at a basketball game. The actress attended the event to support her New York Knicks team.

On her Instagram page, Hargitay shared several photos and footage from the outing. She

captioned

the post, “#AboutLastNight Always love the Garden on a Friday night @msgnetworks and watching the @nyknicks and #captain @jalenbrunson1. Didn’t mind the company either… @chris_meloni.”

Her caption also

included the hashtags

, “#FridayNightFriends #CaptainToCaptain #MyFavoriteCaptain.” The first image in her carousel showed her laughing while looking directly at the camera.

She was seated between two people at the sporting event, dressed in a gray sweater and navy blue pants. The next picture revealed that her former “Law & Order: SVU” co-star, Christopher Meloni, was seated to her left.

The actress affectionately held his hand while he posed. Meloni wore a black T-shirt, a matching jacket, and blue jeans. Compared to Hargitay and others in the third frame, the actor looked serious.

The last post in the carousel was a video showing Hargitay hugging the New York Knicks’ captain, Jalen Brunson.

Her favorite basketball team also shared the photo of her holding Meloni’s hand on its X account with the

caption

, “DUN DUN.” Disapproving of how the actress held her former co-star’s hand, one person

admonished

,

“Marissa [sic] move that hand. The photo is on X. You have a husband. Yikes.”

Similarly, someone else

remarked

,

“Not them holding hands?!”

The criticism continued with a netizen

stating

,

“the chemistry is so loud omg. [sic]”

A fan

questioned

,

“Are their spouses okay with this? I mean I know they are close friends but close friends don’t hold hands. That’s what a married couple does.”

Another person even

asked

,

“omg are they dating [sic],”

while someone else

wondered

,

“Are they married to other ppl or are they together? Because friends aren’t this hands on if they’re in relationships with other ppl. [sic]”

“I was just about to ask, What?!? They’re dating?!?”


questioned

another netizen. Someone else

added

,

“I know they’re just close friends but their spouses are far stronger and far more secure than I am. I would be crashing out at these pics. 😭”

Commenting on Reddit, one person

noted

,

“The hand holding hands is crazy 😭😭( they’re never beating those allegations).”

Their outing at Madison Square Garden isn’t the only recent time the pair has been seen together.

When Meloni bumped into Hargitay in March, he paused to pose with her for photos. In the two pictures, he held her close with one hand while taking their cute selfie. He

captioned

the post, “So I bumped into this one on the street @therealmariskahargitay.”

During a 2021 interview, it was revealed that the former co-stars had an instant connection when they auditioned for “Law & Order: SVU.” Hargitay thought she was auditioning for her role with John Slattery, but it was Meloni.

Meloni recalled their first screen test,

saying

, “I walked in, she turns around and goes, ‘Slattery!’ I go, ‘No, Meloni!'” Reflecting on that moment, Hargitay

shared

, “I walked in, saw him, and I went, ‘That guy. That’s the guy.’ It went deep, very fast. We both knew that it was something big.”

Hargitay

explained

further, “I won’t say that I fully understood it, but I knew that meeting him was important and life-changing. My father, my husband, [‘Law & Order’ creator] Dick Wolf and Chris are the four pillar men in my life. And that happened early.”

Their connection became even more apparent when they started filming together again for “Law & Order: Organized Crime.” The show, a spinoff series, premiered on April 1, 2021, with Meloni’s character taking center stage.

“It was Pavlovian: Ring that bell, and you get right into Stabler and Benson,” he

said

. She

shared

about their bond, “There was so much shorthand between us, which all goes back to the trust we have.”

The actress

continued

, “He’s always made me feel like I could just jump off the ledge, the cliff, the bridge, and he would catch me, in so many ways, whether it was comedy or acting or friendship.”

Meloni

added

, “It’s simple. We have each other’s back.” For 12 years, the pair portrayed the detective duo Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson from 1999 until Meloni left in 2011. Hargitay has remained on the series, now in its 26th season.

The show has

won six Primetime Emmy

Awards, with many other accolades. Meloni’s departure did not change much for the pair, who have remained close friends ever since.

Through the years, Hargitay and Meloni’s bond has only strengthened on and off-screen. Their enduring friendship continues to captivate fans as much as their performances once did. In the past, Meloni has had people talking just by sharing images of himself.

One of the first times that Meloni posted photos showing off his salt-and-pepper beard was a few years ago. As previously reported, when the actor took to Instagram to share an update about the status of “Law and Order: Organized Crime,” fans were not solely focused on the news he had to share about the hit TV show.

Chris Meloni

shared a photo of himself next to a fence with a sign that

read

: “We know who you are, and everyone is on the lookout.” He captioned the post, hinting at the show’s imminent fourth season.

However, the season four announcement was not what fans were focused on. Instead, two other things drew the public’s attention. One was that Meloni


seemed


to have a

“black eye.”

Many fans commented on Meloni’s eye, asking him if the black eye was real and how he had gotten it. Others focused on the black eye and the excitement at season four of the show. There has been no clarification on how and where Meloni got his black eye.

While the black eye got many fans’ attention, Meloni’s facial hair truly excited fans. One fan


commented



,


“YOU GO BOY!! And never shave!”

and another exclaimed,

“WHOA!”

Others agreed with this sentiment, talking about how good

Meloni

looked with a full beard.

Since 2022,

Meloni

has been experiencing a lucky streak when his career took off again in the form of his NYPD spinoff and became an intergenerational sex symbol. “It’s a gas. It’s fun. I don’t know, has anyone else been crowned Zaddy? Once it’s bestowed upon you, you have to just ride that horse as long as you can,” he


joked


.

The actor also said that his family found his new title funny, and his wife didn’t think much of it. Although his children’s friends poked fun at him, he thought it was fun and an honor to be considered in this way.