Emmy Rossum married after a 'break up or get married' ultimatum

Charlie Carballo, USA TODAYThu, July 9, 2026 at 1:15 AM UTC

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Emmy Rossum says her first marriage began with an ultimatum: Break up or get married.

The "Phantom of the Opera" actress revealed on the Wednesday, July 8, episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast that she secretly married music producer Justin Siegel after just a few months of dating, only to realize six months later they were incompatible.

"I started dating Justin, and he worked at Interscope Records that I was signed to," the 39-year-old said. "And we were dating for maybe a couple months. We liked each other."

At the time, she was preparing to spend six months filming "Dragonball: Evolution" in Durango, Mexico. Siegel presented her with two options as he was concerned the long-distance relationship wouldn't last.

"I remember the day that I was going away to make the movie, he said something to me like, 'I don't know if the relationship is going to survive the distance. Maybe we should break up or get married,'" Rossum recalled.

Rossum, who was 21 at the time, thought divorce "doesn't seem that complicated" if the marriage didn't work out.

"It's probably pretty straightforward," she believed.

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She recalled that Siegel printed a marriage contract he found online and hired an officiant through the internet to marry them at her home.

"I found a white turtleneck that was in my closet and threw it on because I was like, 'This is appropriate, right?'" Rossum said, adding that she was "literally not hearing the smoke detector in my head being like, 'Don't do this. You don't have to do this.'"

The "Shameless" star said she moved forward with the marriage after experiencing "two really rough heartbreaks" and because abandonment is her "core wound."

Siegel never visited her while she was filming in Mexico, and when she returned, Rossum said, "it became abundantly clear we weren't a match in any way."

The couple split in 2009. Rossum then had to break the surprise to her mother, who didn’t know about the marriage.

"It was my intention not to tell anybody, because I knew in my gut it wasn't right," she said. "I told my mom, 'Hey, I'm breaking up with Justin, and I need a lawyer.' She was like, 'You did not.' I was like, 'I did.'"

Their divorce was finalized in 2010. Rossum married "Mr. Robot" creator Sam Esmail in 2017. The couple share two children.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Emmy Rossum reveals ultimatum behind secret first marriage

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