Leslie Grossman and Sascha Penn Are Married! Inside Their Summer Elopement and Winter Wedding Party (Exclusive)

Ryan Murphy planned an intimate New Year's Eve dinner to celebrate the couple's marriage

NEED TO KNOW

• Leslie Grossman and Sascha Penn privately eloped in July 2025
• The couple later celebrated their marriage with an intimate New Year’s Eve dinner, entirely planned by Ryan Murphy
• “It was like the bow on the whole thing that we didn’t know we needed that ended up being so important,” Grossman tells PEOPLE

Leslie Grossman and Sascha Penn have tied the knot!

The actress, 54, and the film producer, 55, privately exchanged vows in July 2025 when they eloped on Martha's Vineyard, the same Massachusetts island they got engaged at in August 2024. A few months later on New Year's Eve, the couple celebrated their marriage with an intimate dinner at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles thanks to Ryan Murphy, 60, who planned the entire party.

"It really was the ultimate wedding gift that we didn't know that we needed," Grossman tells PEOPLE.

Ahead of the celebration, the newlyweds opened up to Murphy about their "very special" elopement over dinner when the award-winning writer and producer suggested they have a party. Because the couple married later in life, they were focused on honoring the "miracle" of finding each other and hadn't considered having a traditional wedding.

"Ryan was like, 'Listen, your friends and your family want to celebrate you, and I'm giving you a party and that's that,' which was so sweet," Grossman remembers. "It was funny because my first instinct was, 'Oh, let's not make a big deal out of this,' and if you know Ryan Murphy, he's not someone that you say no to. And of course, because Ryan is always right, it ended up being truly one of the most special nights of our lives."

Murphy — who has been a "dear friend" of Grossman's for more than two decades and has worked with her on multiple projects, including Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and several seasons of American Horror Story — planned "the whole thing," leaving almost everything a surprise.

"It was so beautiful and perfect and lovely," Grossman raves. "It was a really great way to welcome in the new year."

The celebration had "a winter wonderland vibe," and even though it rained, the unexpected weather made the gathering feel "even more dramatic and intimate."

Among the guests were actresses Sarah Paulson, 51, and Holland Taylor, 83, who gave "the most lovely speech." Murphy's toast was "incredible" too, Grossman notes.

Also at dinner were Penn's three adult children from a previous relationship, and Grossman's 19-year-old daughter Goldie, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Jon Bronson.

"My life is so much richer that I get to know these three people. They're the coolest people, and I'm so lucky that I get to know them," Grossman gushes. "And it's so great to see Goldie interact with Sascha because they have a really fun, lighthearted but meaningful connection. And it's just better than anything I could have imagined for myself."

For the cocktail reception and dinner, Grossman selected a custom flocked dot tulle tea-length gown with Chantilly lace trim and a black velvet belt by Honor, jewelry by Forever Diamonds New York, and heels by Alena Ettea. To ring in the new year, she wore a black lace trim Zimmerman midi dress and Stuart Weitzman heels.

At midnight, everyone was dancing. In an "amazing, sweet moment of pure joy," Grossman and Goldie danced together to Beyoncé's "Love on Top."

"Ryan was right, it's important to celebrate with the people who love you the most," Grossman says. "It was like the bow on the whole thing that we didn't know we needed that ended up being so important."

Afterward, Grossman and Penn headed back to their hotel room, where Penn, who is the creator and showrunner of the Starz crime drama series Power Book III: Raising Kanan, turned to his wife and said, "I think that was the best night of my life."

"It was so special because it wasn't about the party, it was about just the people there," Grossman says.

Grossman is enjoying every aspect of married life so far with Penn, whom she met on a dating app in early 2022, and is prioritizing spending more time together.

"I feel like we waited a long time to find each other and it's about maximizing the time that we have to be together," Grossman shares. "What I'm most looking forward to is honestly all of the mundane little things about sharing a life with someone. My hopes are not big sweeping things, it's about all of the small little things that make sharing a life with someone so special."

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Grossman hopes her marriage reminds other women her age that it's never too late to find love, even after divorce.

"You can meet someone when you both come into it with full lives and stories and a little emotional mileage, and it can still be as good as you thought it was going to be when you were a very young person. In fact, it's even better," the Popular alum says.

Grossman never expected to meet the love of her life at age 50.

"It sort of knocked my socks off," she shares, continuing, "[It] has added this whole huge new heart to my life that I didn't even know I needed or I wanted. And it's incredibly special when it's coming from this place of just addition. You're building on top of an already full life."

Grossman emphasizes that marrying later in life is a completely different experience than tying the knot young because it's truly something a couple chooses out of love, not necessity.

"You're together because you want to be, because you're choosing it, not because you need it, you just want them in your life," she says. "It's just a reminder that it is never too late to start again and to begin again and to add a new chapter. It's never, ever, ever too late."

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