Chris Meloni & Mariska Hargitay Look So Happy Spending Thanksgiving Morning Together
Seeing Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay spending quality time on Thanksgiving morning is everything Law & Order: Special Victims Unit fans could ask for during the holidays.
How to Watch
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit returns Thursday, January 8 at 9/8c on NBC and next day on Peacock.
On November 27, Meloni and Hargitay took in the sights and sounds of the 99th edition of the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Meloni commemorated the moment with an adorable selfie in front of the flagship Macy’s store in Herald Square in Manhattan. The two stars were all smiles as they braved the cold — and uncharacteristically high winds — that morning, but it would take a lot more than some inclement weather to dampen the real-life friends’ good moods.
The 2025 parade kicked off with an epic opening performance by Wicked’s Cynthia Erivo and never looked back, with countless performers and celebrities ensuring this year’s event would be the biggest ever. The 99th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade delivered 34.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, its biggest combined audience on record. The original 8:30 a.m. ET airing on NBC drew 25.4 million viewers, the most-watched entertainment telecast in nearly 7 years.
“Thankful for an incredible #MacysParade crew,” the Law & Order: Organized Crime star captioned before writing that he was “grateful” for Hargitay.
(Sure, Meloni’s post was technically an ad for coffee, but when he and Hargitay look that happy at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade together, does it really matter?)
“The cutest, happiest picture in the history of pictures!! 💚🐻❤️,” commented one fan.
The two stars are no strangers to taking fantastic photos together. Whether they’re attending basketball games with their families or just hanging out on the streets of New York, Meloni and Hargitay have a bond that can’t be broken.
Fans love seeing the friendship between Meloni and Hargitay, who have brought the characters of Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson to life for nearly 30 years. It’s remained rock-solid over the years, even if their on-screen counterparts’ will-they-won’t-they relationship has had more than its fair share of ups and downs.
Chris Meloni believes Stabler and Benson should end up together
For the record, Meloni recently revealed his thoughts on how Bensler’s decades-long storyline should eventually wrap up.
“They should ride off into the sunset,” he told People during a November 7 interview.
When the outlet asked what the “sexiest part” of Benson and Stabler’s relationship is, Meloni spoke to the characters’ history.
“Gosh,” he began. “How well they know each other in an unspoken way, and I think it’s the depth of their friendship. And they’ve made these stabs or these attempts at making this thing another thing.”