Mariska Hargitay, the 40-year-old co-star of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and her husband, actor Peter Hermann, 37, who has a recurring role on the show, first met on the set in November 2001. To break the ice Hargitay tried making a joke, but "he didn't think I was funny,” she says with a laugh. Things went slightly better several months later, when the two became engrossed in a discussion about religion, which culminated in Hermann's suggesting they attend church together. "I just about passed out when I saw him there," says Hargitay. "I thought, That's my husband."