Kelli Giddish Makes U-Turn For 'Law & Order' Almost 8 Months After Exit

"Law & Order" viewers have not seen the last of Kelli Giddish as NYPD Detective Amanda Rollins!

The character, played by actress Kelli Giddish, will return for a cameo appearance in the long-running drama's current season's finale. Giddish stepped away from playing the role midway through the season this past December after announcing the decision in August of the same year.

Giddish is set to return as a cameo star during the season 24 finale of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and the penultimate episode of "Law & Order: Organized Crime" season three. During her final appearance on "SVU," her character walked down the aisle with Peter Scanavino's ADA Sonny Carisi Jr.

Rollins had also revealed that she had found a new career path and was moving to New York to teach at Fordham University. However, upon returning, her former colleagues would learn she was pregnant.

Fans would recall that when she was ready to exit the legal series, Deadline reported Giddish had taken to social media to write:

"Playing Rollins has been one of the greatest joys and privileges of my life. I've been so fortunate to be a part of the Law & Order family for the last 12 years. There is simply no other character on TV like Rollins. She's grown and changed, and I have as well."

The 43-year-old star then reflected on joining the show in her late 20s and spending "so many of" her "adult years with Rollins in my life." Per The Blast, the news had hit her fans hard, and they took to Twitter to express their sadness at her absence.

One viewer tweeted that it was "very disappointing to hear this," explaining that it would not be the same without her and that they were "really liking the direction that the show was taking with Rollins and Carisi."

Another fan implored other viewers to "take a moment and consider" how far this character had come from "the 'newbie' who came from GA…through gambling & the craziness with her sister" to welcoming "two beautiful daughters & her Love with Dominick."

A third Twitter expressed hope that the showrunners were giving "her the best end for a character ever!" because Rollins "deserved it." A fourth netizen went as far as tagging Giddish to laud her for being "one of the baddest female cops on the show."

The University of Evansville alum joined the "Law & Order" family as a main cast during its 13th season after a previous appearance as a victim in an episode of season eight in 2007.

US Magazine detailed that the stage actress played various roles in several other well-known Hollywood projects, including Di Henry on the beloved soap opera "All My Children" from 2005 to 2007, before taking on Rollins.

During her "Law & Order" run, the actress seemingly developed a close bond with her co-star, Mariska Hargitay, who has played Olivia Benson since the SVU's first season. Their affection for each other was evident in a picture she shared early last year via Instagram, along with the caption, "I love playing cops with this one."

Hargitay, who dropped a slew of heart emojis in the comment section in response, has also lauded the "All Love is Lost" video vixen at any opportunity. During a 2018 panel discussion at a festival, the Emmy Award-winning actress gushed:

"Kelli is one of the strongest people I know; I'd say, in a lot of ways, like, a lot cooler than I am."

As for romantic relationships, Giddish has been married twice, first saying "I do" to Lawrence Faulborn in June 2015 in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The couple welcomed their first child, son Ludo, in October 2015.

She later welcomed their second kid together — another son named Charlie —  in November 2018. Unfortunately, the union folded up, and the couple divorced in the same year. The "Without a Trace" guest star found love again in the arms of Beau Richards, announcing that she had "met and married my love, my man, my sweet beau" in a November 2021 Instagram post.

The picture accompanying the post featured the "Past Life" kissing the groom and has received over 50k likes.