The Russian "rooftopping" couple who scaled the Empire State Building to its spire and staged what looked like a marriage proposal are speaking out for the first time since their arrest — and now a new wrinkle has emerged: her father says the pair was already secretly married, and the whole stunt was staged as a "performance."

Angela Nikolau and her partner, known as Ivan Kuznetsov or Ivan Beerkus, evaded building security in July, hid overnight inside the Empire State Building, and climbed roughly 1,450 feet to the spire, where they unfurled a banner before Kuznetsov appeared to propose. The pair were arraigned on felony charges including burglary and reckless endangerment and released under court supervision, according to ABC7 New York.

"Ready to take responsibility"

In an interview with ABC News' Aaron Katersky that aired on "Good Morning America," Kuznetsov said the couple is willing to take responsibility for the stunt and urged other thrill-seekers not to try to repeat it, according to ABC News. Asked directly whether the two were already married, their attorney advised them not to answer and to steer the conversation toward their future instead.

"READY TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY."

Separately, Nikolau's father, Dmitry Nikolau, told ABC News that his daughter and Kuznetsov are, in fact, already married — and that the headline-grabbing proposal atop one of New York's most famous buildings was staged as a "performance" rather than a genuine engagement. Their attorney has previously told Fox News Digital the pair is negotiating a plea deal with prosecutors.

The couple, known online for a string of death-defying "rooftopping" climbs, were the subject of the 2024 Netflix documentary "Skywalkers: A Love Story," which chronicled their relationship and their exploits scaling skyscrapers without permission. Whether July's climb was genuine spontaneity or stunt choreography, it's now part of the same pending criminal case.