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Emmy Rossum Says Ultimatum Led to Secret First Marriage

Her account links a last-minute ultimatum to an impulsive, private wedding she now calls a youthful mistake.

Overview

  • Rossum says Justin Siegel gave her an ultimatum—'break up or get married'—just before she left to film Dragonball: Evolution, and they married secretly in February 2008.
  • She describes the ceremony as improvised, saying Siegel printed marriage paperwork from the internet and hired an officiant to come to her home.
  • Rossum recalled that Siegel never visited while she spent six months filming in Durango, Mexico, and she realized on returning that they were not a match.
  • Their split became public when Siegel filed for divorce in September 2009 and the divorce was finalized in December 2010, and there are no new legal developments.
  • Rossum recounted the story in a July 8, 2026 interview on the Call Her Daddy podcast, framing the choice as driven by youth and a fear of abandonment and noting she later married Sam Esmail and had two children.