Mariska Hargitay needs a mere five words to sum up the relationship at the heart of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. “Stabler’s in love with Benson.”

The actor discussed the dynamic between her Capt. Olivia Benson and Christopher Meloni’s Det. Elliot Stabler in an interview on Saturday Today on Saturday, October 11. And she confirmed that Meloni ad-libbed the “Love you” in SVU’s Season 27 premiere.

“He just threw that in. Oh, yes he did,” Hargitay said. “It was true, and we do love each other. Originally, it was scripted that I said it. And so what we did was, we did it both ways … we did it with and without. This is the line that we’re always trying to navigate and keep it nuanced. So on the take that I didn’t do it, Chris did it.”

Hargitay observed that Meloni felt that Stabler expressing love as he did was the “truth” of the scene as the characters were mourning the death of retired Capt. Don Cragen (Dann Florek).

“You know, we lost our captain who was our north star for us, that we both came up under. It’s a deeply emotional scene. It’s also the beginning of a new era and end of an old one. So it was a very emotional scene. And as we know, when those things happen, when we lose somebody we love, we renew our connection, right? We plug in that way emotionally. So I felt like he just needed to say it.”

Then, with a laugh, Hargitay said, “Besides, Stabler’s in love with Benson. Hello?”

(Aptly, Saturday Today cohost Peter Alexander said, “That’s the headline that comes out of this conversation. Let’s be very clear.”)

For his part, Meloni told TV Insider this spring that he, Hargitay, and the writers are “trying to find a satisfying way home,” in the Benson-Stabler relationship. “We just don’t know what that home is,” he said.

As for Stabler’s feelings, Meloni explained, “I think it’s wrapped up in how he’s wired, how he’s built, his Catholicism, the commitments he’s made and promises. [It’s] complicated.”

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Thursdays, 9/8c, NBC