Emmy Rossum has finally told the full story of her first marriage, one she kept hidden from nearly everyone, including her own mother, for years.
The “Shameless” star sat down with Alex Cooper on the July 8 episode of “Call Her Daddy” and walked through how a spontaneous decision at 21 turned into a short-lived union with music executive Justin Siegel. She explained that the whole thing started with an ultimatum she never saw coming.
Rossum said she met Siegel while recording her pop album in 2007, when he worked in the artists and repertoire division at Interscope Records, the same label she was signed to. The two had only been dating a couple of months when her career pulled her in a different direction. She had landed a role in “Dragonball: Evolution” and was set to spend six months filming in Durango, Mexico.
An Ultimatum on the Way Out the Door
According to Rossum, Siegel worried the distance would end things before she even left. She recalled him telling her the relationship might not survive being apart, so they should either break up or get married. The timing could not have been more abrupt, since she had a flight booked for that same night.
Rossum said she was still processing two difficult breakups at the time, and the fear of being abandoned again shaped her thinking. She described abandonment as her “core wound” and admitted her 21-year-old logic told her that divorce would be simple if things did not work out. That reasoning, she said, is what pushed her toward saying yes.
She also told Cooper, before the wedding even happened, that she suspected it would not last and that she had already pictured the marriage ending in divorce. The ceremony itself came together in a matter of hours. Siegel found a marriage contract online and brought in someone he met online to officiate.
A Rushed Ceremony and a White Turtleneck
Rossum said she grabbed a white turtleneck from her closet because she thought it seemed like appropriate wedding attire for the occasion. She admitted she ignored every instinct warning her to slow down, comparing it to tuning out a smoke detector going off in her head. Despite those doubts, the wedding went forward that same day in February 2008.
She kept the marriage secret from the start, telling Cooper she knew in her gut it was not the right decision. Siegel did not visit her once during the six months she spent filming in Mexico. When she finally returned home, she said it became clear almost immediately that the two of them were not compatible in any real way.
Breaking the News to Her Mother
Rossum said she had not told a single person about the marriage until she was ready to end it. She recalled sitting down with her mother, Cheryl Rossum, and telling her she was breaking up with Siegel and needed a lawyer. Her mother’s reaction, she said, was disbelief, followed almost immediately by action.
She described her mother as someone who always shows up in a crisis, joking that she would send her for a manicure while handling the practical side herself. Siegel filed for divorce in September 2009, and the split was finalized in 2010. Rossum later dated Counting Crows singer Adam Duritz and her “Shameless” co-star Tyler Jacob Moore before beginning her next serious relationship.
Finding a Different Kind of Love with Sam Esmail
Rossum met “Mr. Robot” creator Sam Esmail in 2013 while working together on the film “Comet.” She described their connection as a slow burn rather than the whirlwind that defined her first marriage. About a week before filming began, Esmail told her he had gone to therapy and needed to admit he loved her.
Rossum said she did not say it back right away, since she had not yet figured out her own feelings. It only took about a week for her to realize she felt the same way. The two dated for two years before Esmail proposed in their bathtub in 2015, and they married in 2017 at Central Synagogue in New York City in an intimate Jewish ceremony.
Rossum and Esmail now share two children, a five-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son, whose names have not been made public. Siegel, meanwhile, went on to become executive producer of political commentator Ben Shapiro’s podcast. Rossum’s reflection on her first marriage highlights how far she has traveled since that hurried decision at 21.
