Watch: How Mariska Hargitay, Husband Peter Hermann Navigate Disagreements
Mariska Hargitayknows how to keep the proper order in her marriage.
The Law & Order: SVU star shared insight into her decades-long marriage with husband PeterHermann, revealing what she thinks is the secret to their lasting romance.
“I feel so blessed in that department,” Hargitay exclusively told E! News about her marriage. “My new two favorite words are ‘disciplined curiosity.’ Really being curious about the other person and how they experience something and really listening.”
And she and the Younger actor—who share kids August, 19, Amaya, 15, and Andrew, 14—aren’t afraid of having the “tough conversations,” even if it can make them feel uncomfortable. Thankfully, the two have a way to deal with it.
“My husband and I also use a lot of humor to get through things,” the 62-year-old said. “The way we can joke about things and then afterwards we go, ‘Too soon?’ It’s sort of everything for us.”
More than anything, the Emmy winner was grateful that Hermann, 58, with whom she tied the knot in 2004, is “an extremely thoughtful person.”
“If there is ever a disagreement or argument or we get scared or tight, I know that he will always think about it or think about what I said,” Hargitay shared. “If we disagree on something I really will try to understand what he means. We give each other the space to have those—they can be tough conversations—but to really listen and understand, because I think you get into trouble when you close down.”
She added, “It’s the way you talk about it and the room that you give each other.”
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Hargitay is also grateful about her upcoming partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb on their new educational campaign, “Investigating Myeloma.” Multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, is an illness she knows quite a lot about as her father MickeyHargitay—who was married to her late mother JayneMansfield—died from the disease in 2006.
But thanks to new research, there is hope for those diagnosed with multiple myeloma.
“Multiple myeloma is an incurable disease, but it is treatable,” Hargitay said. “With this research there’s just so much more hope to be had. Things have changed so much in 20 years.”
For a look back at Hargitay and Hermann’s love story, keep reading.
—Nikaline McCarley
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