Blue Bloods star Vanessa Ray had a helping hand from the husband of Law and Order SVU star Mariska Hargitay when it came to adopting a baby.
Law and Order icon Mariska Hargitay’s husband “walked” Blue Bloods’ Vanessa Ray through adopting a baby boy.
Ray, who has been behind Eddie Janko-Reagan since 2013, adopted her son Isaac Ray Beard with her husband Landon Beard in a “whirlwind” experience late last year.
The couple, who had been married since 2015, weren’t entirely sure about having children until a family dinner scene on the CBS cop drama convinced Ray otherwise.
She explained that she had an “overwhelming sensation of family” and phoned her husband telling him that she thinks they are meant to adopt.
Ray confided in Erin actress Bridget Moynahan who told her to reach out to Peter Hermann, Law and Order SVU icon Mariska Hargitay’s husband, who had a guest role on Blue Bloods.
Ray and Hermann had yet to work together but he “graciously” gave the couple guidance as he and Hargitay adopted two out of their three children.
They adopted daughter Amaya, 12, in April 2011 and their son Andrew, 12, in October of the same year, and also share their biological son, 17-year-old August.
Ray told People that Hermann “really held our hand and walked us through everything that we would need to know about adoption.”
She said Hermann likened the process to “a lot of first dates almost” as there can be “a ton of heartbreak that comes along with it”.
Ray and Landon spent the next year preparing paperwork and finding an attorney before they were matched with Isaac’s birth mum just four weeks before she was due to give birth.
“It went super fast. She was like, ‘He’s due in four weeks, so we have to do this quickly.’ We were like, ‘Whoa, okay’,” the actress explained.
“It all happened in three weeks, really from zero to three weeks. Then we were bringing him out and it was incredible.”
The 42-year-old also revealed that Isaac came a week earlier than expected, born on November 7.
Ray stars in the series 14 of Blue Bloods as Jamie Reagan’s wife Eddie, after tying the knot in the season nine finale.
Sadly, it is the beginning of the end for the police family drama as CBS has already announced season 14 will be its last.
The series will be split into two parts, the first 10 currently airing every Sunday with the second half consisting of eight episodes, expected in the fall of 2024.
Blue Bloods season 14 continues every Sunday on CBS.