Carrie Preston Thought Michael Emerson Was Gay When They Met

Star of Elsbeth, Carrie Preston, along with her partner, husband Michael Emerson, have maintained a strong bond for over thirty years, though their romance had an unexpected start.

The pair first crossed paths 31 years ago while they were both part of a production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Reflecting on their initial encounter during the October 7 episode of the “Dinner’s On Me With Jesse Tyler Ferguson” podcast, Preston noted that despite her attraction to Emerson, she mistakenly assumed he was gay.

“On my first day in rehearsal, this guy walked in wearing a three-piece suit, and I thought, ‘Who’s that?’” Preston shared. “I was convinced he was gay, thinking I had again developed a crush on a well-dressed, polite guy who was clearly straight.”

“So I resolved to just be his friend instead,” she added.

In her discussion, Preston revealed she asked her brother, actor John G. Preston, who was also in the Hamlet cast, about Emerson. “I said, ‘What do you think of Michael Emerson?’” she recalled, explaining that her brother was trying to set her up with someone else. “He just said, ‘Emerson’s cool.’ I was baffled and said, ‘But he’s gay, right?’ He quickly corrected me and said, ‘No way, he’s definitely not.’”

Upon learning Emerson was indeed straight, Preston admitted to feeling shy around him, but it seemed he was just as interested in her. The The Good Wife star mentioned that early in their relationship, Emerson would surprise her with flowers and invitations to social gatherings.

By the time they had been dating for a month, Preston felt certain that Emerson was her ideal partner.

“About a month in, I found myself on the phone with my mom saying, ‘You have to meet the man I’m going to marry. I won’t tell him that, but you need to come see him,’” she recounted.

Preston happily revealed that she and Emerson recently celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary and have been together for a total of 31 years.

Recently, Emerson featured in a recurring role on season two of Elsbeth, portraying the crooked judge Milton Crawford, an adversary to Elsbeth Tascioni, the character played by his wife.

“It’s an enjoyable experience,” Emerson shared with Deadline regarding working alongside Preston in November 2024. “I must admit, it requires me to compartmentalize. Knowing I just shared a bed with her that morning makes it a bit challenging; I have to clear those thoughts and approach her as a character.”

Preston added, “The great aspect of collaborating with Michael is our deep-rooted familiarity after 30 years together, and with 26 of those in marriage. We didn’t need to discuss our scenes much; we simply ran through our lines in the van on the way to set and relied on each other’s performances.”