NBCDun, dun...it's Christopher Meloni's birthday!
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit characters Detective Elliot Stabler (Meloni) and his partner and current leading lady Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) had a very deep and strong connection on the series and they always had each other's back.
Over the years, fans of the NBC show grew obsessed with them, but the real friendship we are still living for today is the one between birthday boy Meloni and his former co-star Hargitay.
Seriously, they would make Stabler and Benson really proud based on their continually strong bond in real life and it makes our hearts jump for joy year after year.
Despite the fact that Stabler and Benson are no more on screen, off screen the two actors are still as thick as thieves and we are very grateful that they are.
In honor of Meloni turning 58 years old today we've decided to celebrate the thing we love about him more than his acting and good looks...his friendship with Hargitay.
Luckily for fans of Meloni, the actor has been doing his thing on screen since 1988 and even though we will always remember him as Stabler on SVU, he's won us over more times than we can count.
From Oz and True Blood to Wet Hot American Summer and Happy! Meloni knows how to bring the laughs, be serious and make us take notice of him no matter what role he's portraying. The craziest part however is that his personality off screen is even better.
He's proven time and time again that he's a family man and an amazing friend—case and point: his two decade long friendship with Hargitay—and that's why we want to celebrate him even more on his birthday.
To make your day and remind everyone why Meloni is so wonderful, just scroll through all of his sweet friendship moments with Hargitay below. Trust us, this will brighten up your day, week, month or your year in no time!
Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni wake up early to promote a new season of their Law & Order shows on NBC's Today show.
Before announcing one of the biggest winners of the night, the 2022 Emmys presenters have a little fun onstage at the Microsoft Theatre.
The Law & Order: SVU stars stop by the Backstage Creations giving suite at the 2022 Emmys, where they have some fun dressing up in their comfortable Spirit Hoods.
"Sunday night dinner," Mariska shared alongside a selfie of her and Chris, who she starred with on Law & Order: SVU for 12 seasons before the actor left the series in 2011.
Hargitay posed this snap with her bestie while on vacation in December 2018 and we're obsessed. "Vacay...A great night with this one. #Reunited #OldFriends #PTL," she captioned it.
In May 2018, Meloni and Hargitay hung out together in New York City and of course they documented it...thank goodness.
"Crazy ppl on the streets of nyc," Meloni captioned this selfie fail and seriously, how can you not just love these two together?
Blurry or not, this snap of the two former Law & Order: Special Victims Unit co-stars spending time together during the holidays in 2017 is too cute.
After Thanksgiving in 2017, the two pals ran into one another and clearly they still have fun no matter what the occasion.
Ugh, how do we get Detective Stabler to give us a smooch?
Hargitay shared this sweet snap in honor of her former TV partner's birthday in April 2017 and said "PFL" at the end of the note and we're dying a little inside because Stabler and Benson are partners for life!
"And then that happened...Just when I thought Valentine's Day was over," Hargitay wrote alongside this kissing picture from Valentine's Day in 2017 and we are again getting teary-eyed at these two loving each other so much.
In 2016, the former TV partners and real-life friends celebrated Christmas together (well, a few days early) and we are in desperate need of an on-screen reunion now.
"Lean on me #PFL #FacialHairDontCare #Hargoatee #HanginWithAFriend #ItsAllInTheEyesKid," Hargitay wrote on this precious picture and we will never get tired of these quick reunions.
In 2015, in the dark of night, New York City's greatest detectives, err, we mean friends, reunited once again and posed for an epic photo.
It doesn't matter how long these two are apart, they always make time to check in with each other and we are totally on board with all the run-ins that have happened over the past few years.
In March 2014, the duo reunited for dinner proving that they will always be partners, even if they aren't acting alongside one another anymore.