Emmy Rossum looked back on one of the biggest regrets of her early adulthood, revealing that her first marriage began after an unexpected ultimatum. The “Shameless” star admitted she ignored her instincts before secretly marrying music executive Justin Siegel at just 21.
The actress reflected on the whirlwind relationship during a candid conversation on “Call Her Daddy,” explaining how a long-distance job opportunity forced a life-changing decision. Their marriage lasted just over a year before ending in divorce.
Emmy Rossum looked back on the marriage to Justin Siegel that began with an ultimatum and ended in divorce
Rossum recalled that she had been dating Siegel, who worked at Interscope Records, while she was signed to the label, for only a few months before landing a role in “Dragonball: Evolution.” She said that as she prepared to leave for a six-month shoot in Mexico, Siegel presented her with an unexpected choice.
“I don’t know if the relationship is gonna survive the distance. So maybe we should break up or get married,” Rossum recalled on Call Her Daddy.
The actress admitted that the timing caught her off guard. Fresh off two painful breakups, she said her fear of abandonment clouded her judgment.
“My 21-year-old brain thought, ‘Divorce doesn’t seem that complicated. Like, it’s probably pretty straightforward,’” Rossum said.
She revealed that the wedding came together almost immediately. Siegel “literally printed out a marriage contract online and got some guy on the internet to come over,” she said, while she threw on a white turtleneck she found in her closet.
Rossum also admitted she ignored every instinct telling her not to go through with it.
“I was literally not hearing the smoke detector in my head being like, ‘Don’t do this. You don’t have to do this,’” she said, adding that she deliberately kept the marriage a secret because “I knew in my gut it wasn’t right.”
Once filming wrapped, Rossum said it became “abundantly clear we weren’t a match in any way.” She even kept the marriage from her own mother until the relationship was over.
“I told my mom, ‘Hey, I’m breaking up with Justin, and I need a lawyer,’” Rossum recalled. “She was like, ‘You did not.’ I was like, ‘I did.’”
Rossum later found lasting happiness with Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail. As she also shared on Call Her Daddy, their romance developed much more slowly after meeting on the set of Comet. The couple married in 2017 and now share two children together.
TELL US – WERE YOU SURPRISED TO LEARN EMMY ROSSUM KEPT HER FIRST MARRIAGE A SECRET?
