Emmy Rossum is looking back at one of the most personal chapters of her life as she revealed how a relationship ultimatum led her to marry ex-husband Justin Siegel. Nearly 16 years after their divorce was finalised, the Shameless alum talked about the whirlwind romance during her appearance on the July 8 episode of Call Her Daddy.
“I started dating Justin, and he worked at Interscope Records that I was signed to,” Rossum recalled.
“And we were dating for maybe a couple months. We liked each other.” But what followed was a life-changing decision that she now says she wasn’t truly ready for.
A Marriage Proposal Before A Movie Shoot
Rossum shared that shortly after they began dating, she landed a role in the 2009 film Dragonball: Evolution which required her to spend six months filming in Durango, Mexico.
Just before she left for the shoot, Siegel reportedly told her, “I don’t know if the relationship is gonna survive the distance. So maybe we should break up or get married.”
The actress said the timing caught her completely off guard. With only hours left before her flight, she found herself thinking about the heartbreak she had already experienced in previous relationships.
“I thought to myself, ‘Well, I’m just coming off these two really rough heartbreaks.’ Abandonment is my core wound. I don’t want that. That hurts me.”
Looking back now, Rossum admitted she also underestimated what marriage and divorce really meant as she believed at the time that ending a marriage, if it came to that, wouldn’t be especially complicated.
A Wedding That Happened Almost Overnight
The actress described the wedding as something that happened in a night. According to Rossum, there was no elaborate planning or grand celebration. Instead, she said Siegel downloaded marriage paperwork online and arranged for an officiant to come to her home.
Rossum recalled pulling a white turtleneck out of her closet at the last minute because she thought it would be appropriate for the occasion. Even then, she admitted there was an inner voice warning her not to go through with it.
“It was my intention not to tell anybody,” she said while explaining that deep down she already knew the marriage “wasn’t right.”
Reality Set In After They Married
Although the couple tied the knot before Rossum left for Mexico, she revealed that Siegel never visited her during the months she spent filming overseas.
Once she returned home, it didn’t take long for her to realise that they simply weren’t compatible.
Rossum explained that it became “abundantly clear we weren’t a match in any way” which eventually led the couple to separate. Siegel filed for divorce in September 2009 and their split was finalised the following year.
Even Her Mother Didn’t Know
One of the biggest surprises from Rossum’s interview was her admission that she had kept the marriage a secret from almost everyone which also included her own mother.
She remembered finally telling her mom only after the relationship had already fallen apart.
“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.'”
Rossum went on to praise her mother for immediately stepping in to support her during the difficult time.
Where Is Emmy Rossum Now?
Following her divorce, Rossum briefly dated Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz before finding love with writer and director Sam Esmail. The couple, who first met in 2013, tied the knot in 2017.
Today, Rossum and Esmail are parents to two children, a daughter and a son, whose names they have chosen to keep private.
