Chris Meloni Says He Ad-Libbed 'Love You' Line To Benson In SVU Season Premiere: 'Ur Welcome'

By Kimberly Roots
stabler-benson-love-you-line-ad-libbed-chris-meloni-law-and-order-svu Virginia Sherwood/NBC

This post contains spoilers for Law & Order: SVU's Season 27 premiere. Proceed accordingly.

The declaration of affection at the start of Law & Order: SVU's Season 27 premiere was as impromptu as it was heartfelt, Chris Meloni says.

On X Friday, the Law & Order: Organized Crime star, who appeared in his old show's cold open Thursday, answered a fan's question about a moment from the premiere. The scene in question involved Capt. Olivia Benson (played by Mariska Hargitay) and Meloni's Det. Elliot Stabler, who were mourning the loss of their friend and former boss, Capt. Donald Cragen. When Benson made to leave, Stabler said "love you" as he closed the door to her car, which was a big step for them. Want a recap of the premiere? Go here. Want to geek out with a fellow 'EO' 'shipper? Right this way.

"sooooo stabler told benson love you last night care to comment ??," an X account named oliviaxstabler asked Meloni. His response indicated that the key lines weren't in the script at all. "Ad lib. Made the cut. Ur welcome."

Meloni previously has posted to social media in ways that seem to support the possibility of Benson and Stabler turning their decades-long friendship into something more. In July, when a fan posted "for f–k [sic] sake, kiss her already!" in reference to Benson, he wrote back, "I'm f–king trying."

For her part, Hargitay also has shown support for an eventual 'EO' romance... but not until the long-running show is about to end. "Maybe on the last episode," she said in a June episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast. "I think that's when they should be together... Let's see where the story takes us, you know?"

Meloni addressed the 'ship during a TVLine Spotlight conversation in April. "Here's the real deal: Where they're going, I have no idea," Meloni said regarding whether SVU and Organized Crime are toying with fans who would like to see the former police partners fall in love. He added that he and Hargitay are "doing the best we can to make it honest, not make it bait. If we do bait, at least for me, I always do it with a wink. I think it's good-natured, but maybe you guys are over that. And that's valid. But you give us too much credit for the power that we might have, will-they-won't-they and all that stuff."

And the person who does have a whole lot of power in this situation seems decidedly against pairing the characters romantically. Über-producer Dick Wolf, father of both shows (and many more), recently spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the matter.

"Look, I never say never. But I do learn some lessons from history. When did Moonlighting become unwatchable?" he said, referring to the point in that series where will-they-won't-they co-workers Dave and Maddie became a romantic couple. "Once they did it, it was over."

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