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\nChristopher Meloni addressed the long-standing “will-they-won’t they” dynamic between his character Elliot Stabler and Mariska Hargitay’s Captain Olivia BensonMeloni left Law and Order: Special Victims Unit in 2011, but returned for its spinoff Organized Crime in 2021In a post on X on July 28, Meloni said he was “f—— trying” to get the beloved characters to kiss already after much build-up and teasing through the years<\/p>\n
Christopher Meloni<\/a> is doing what he can to ensure Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson<\/a> finally end up together!\n<\/p>\n The actor made it clear that he knows fans want his Law and Order: Special Victims Unit character and Mariska Hargitay<\/a>‘s Captain Olivia Benson to have an onscreen romance \u2014 and is doing his part to make it happen \u2014 in a social media post on Monday, July 28.\n<\/p>\n After a fan sent a post to him on X<\/a> and wrote, “@Chris_Meloni<\/a> for f— sake, kiss her already!” Meloni, 64, quipped back, “I\u2019m f—— trying.”\n<\/p>\n The post was met with over 23,000 likes from fans of SVU and his spinoff series, Law & Order: Organized Crime<\/a>, who have longed for their beloved characters to kiss for years.\n<\/p>\n Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni on ‘Law and Order: Special Victims Unit’ circa 2001.<\/p>\n Alamy<\/p>\n Meloni and Hargitay began costarring in Law & Order: SVU in 1999, and Meloni departed the show in 2011. <\/p>\n He later rejoined the SVU world in Law & Order: Organized Crime in 2021. With\u00a026 seasons of\u00a0SVU\u00a0and\u00a0five seasons of\u00a0Organized Crime, there have been several crossover episodes for the former police partners to tackle hard cases together.\n<\/p>\n Upon Meloni’s 2021 return, it was revealed that the pair of characters had stayed loyal friends over the decades, and, at one point, even came close to a romantic relationship. The will-they-won’t-they dynamic has remained a through line of the long-running series<\/a>, bringing a personal element to the crime show.\n<\/p>\n In a June episode of Alex Cooper’s podcast Call Her Daddy<\/a>, Hargitay, 61, teased, “Maybe on the last episode. I think that\u2019s when they should be together\u2026 if it\u2019s right. We\u2019ll see when we get there.”\n<\/p>\n Hargitay added that she feels the Manhattan officers are \u201csoulmates, in a way.”\n<\/p>\n Mariska Hargitay as Captain Olivia Benson and Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler.<\/p>\n Virginia Sherwood\/NBC\/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty<\/p>\n In season 24 of SVU, fans got close to what they’ve been hoping to see when Benson and Stabler\u00a0almost shared a kiss. <\/p>\n \u201cWe were attempting something,\u201d Meloni said of the moment<\/a> in April during a\u00a0TVLine Spotlight<\/a>\u00a0conversation. \u201cI don\u2019t think it worked. But I\u2019m not going to tell you why it didn\u2019t work, because you all have your opinion.\u201d\n<\/p>\n He added, \u201cI know what transpired.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Meloni also noted, \u201cI don\u2019t go, \u2018That\u2019s what\u2019s going to go on TV. That\u2019s what we\u2019re going to air.\u2019 We don\u2019t have that power. We do the best we can to be honest with the scenes we\u2019re given.”\n<\/p>\n Mariska Hargitay as Captain Olivia Benson and Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler.<\/p>\n Peter Kramer\/NBC via Getty<\/p>\n Hargitay previously alluded that she, too, hopes for the fictional couple to get together. <\/p>\n \u201cTo be honest with you, Chris and I thought it should go one way and the powers that be didn\u2019t, so it got changed at the last minute, that near kiss,\u201d she revealed to\u00a0Variety<\/a>\u00a0in May 2024. \u201cObviously [creator] Dick [Wolf] gets final say. It\u2019s his show and he didn\u2019t want that.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Hargitay also revealed how Benson actually feels about Stabler during an appearance on\u00a0The Drew Barrymore Show<\/a>\u00a0in January 2022.\n<\/p>\n “The energy’s there. Olivia’s been in love with him for many a year,” Hargitay said at the time. “And I think that we are slowly finding our way back to it, but I want to give him the amount of time he needs to grieve Kathy Stabler.”\n<\/p>\n