Law and Order’s Mariska Hargitay teary as she opens up on ‘stressful’ family change

Mariska Hargitay emotionally opened up about her rarely seen children in a candid admission about her eldest son August.

orlds away from her tough love Law and Order character, Mariska Hargitay showed her softer side on a Hollywood red carpet as she got choked up over one reporter’s question.

The 60-year-old made a jaw-dropping appearance at the inaugural Gotham TV Awards as she was honoured with the Anniversary Tribute to recognize her iconic 25-year run as Detective Olivia Benson in the Law and Order franchise.

However, while she’s marking a stellar milestone after a decades-long career Mariska is also preparing to watch her son taking his very first steps outside of the family unit.

While talking about 17-year-old August, who she shares with her husband Peter Hermann, the actress got choked up on the red carpet as she settled into the fact that there’s just a few months until he graduates and heads off to college.

The Hollywood star admitted to People that both her and Peter have been “shuffling around our house” wondering to themselves: “Where does the time go? Where’s the time go? What happened?”

READ MORE: Mariska Hargitay had ‘tough love’ from Law and Order SVU creator Dick Wolf

Mariska Hargitay

Law and Order’s Mariska Hargitay got choked up on red carpet while discussing her son August (Image: GETTY)

The teary confession came as Mariska made a head-turning appearance at the first-ever Gotham TV Awards, donning a head-turning silver floor-length gown that perfectly contrasted with her husband’s all-black suit as they strutted the red carpet together.

Mariska and Peter tied the knot in 2004 and welcomed August when the actress was 42.

Six years later, the pair jumped headfirst into creating the “big family” they had always envisioned as they adopted their daughter, Amaya, and their youngest son, Andrew, within six months.

While it won’t be an empty nest for the pair just yet, Mariska reflected on the daunting college application process last month as she admitted during an appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark last month: “It is so stressful for these kids.”