Fran Drescher 'Blessed To Have Met' Gay Ex-Husband

By PopEater Staff Posted Jun 2nd 2010 03:45PM

In a bombshell interview with In Touch Weekly, Fran Drescher has revealed that her ex-husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, to whom she was married for more than 21 years, is gay.

Although he broke the news to her after they divorced in 1999, Drescher has finally come clean about her ex's sexuality, admitting his confession brought them closer together. "Peter and I feel so blessed to have met each other and to still have a caring, loving relationship," Fran says. "Love is what we're all about."

In the interview, Drescher speaks candidly about her openly gay ex-husband and the traumatic burglary that changed everything.

The two first met while attending Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, Queens. The couple married in 1978 when Drescher was 21 -- shortly after she made her film debut in 1977's 'Saturday Night Fever.' In hindsight, Drescher admits young love had its pitfalls, but the two went through life-changing experiences that would later define their careers in Hollywood.

"Peter and I met when we were 15," Drescher tells In Touch. "We were just kids and didn't know who we truly were. We went through a lot together."

Jacobson and Drescher became an unstoppable team when he wrote, directed and produced her signature television series, 'The Nanny.'

But not everything was as simple as it seemed.

The couple had quite a few ups and downs -- including a traumatic experience in January 1985 when two armed robbers broke into their Los Angeles apartment. While one robber ransacked their home, the other sexually assaulted Drescher at gunpoint. Jacobson was also physically attacked, tied up and forced to witness the entire ordeal.

Although the man was sentenced to two life sentences, Drescher had a difficult time overcoming the horrifying ordeal. "At the time, it didn't seem to hurt the marriage," Fran told Larry King in 2002, but added, "Nothing was ever really the same again."

The couple separated in 1996 and were officially divorced in 1999. They did not have any children together.

That's when Jacobson finally told Drescher that he was gay. Although the two split, Drescher reveals they're still "the best of friends" and continue to collaborate. "We love each other dearly," she says. "We have even fixed each other up! I more successfully than him, by the way."

The couple even co-hosted a cocktail party in LA to benefit an organization that sought to block California's ban on same-sex marriage -- known as Prop 8. "I'm a gay icon," she explains. "But even if I weren't, I'm a political activist who believes in preserving the American dream, which is tolerance of diversity and the separation of church and state."

Tags: fran drescher, peter marc jacobson

Comments

(208)

Thursday 03 June

By AP

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What makes anyone inm their right mind think STDs are exclusive to gay people? You either skipped the 70s and 80s or just closed yourself off from reality or something. WTF?

By Ron in NY

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The word 'lifestyle' puts a lot of different 'lifestyleS' into one category.

For instance, if I referred to the 'heterosexual lifestyle' that would put you in the same category as that woman on Jerry Springer who sleeps with all her daughter's boyfriends. I think the word you're looking for is 'orientation'.

I think some closeted men marry women thinking it will help them deal better with society, or they just can't face the fact that they are gay, and that's wrong - because then you're messing up somebody else's life besides your own.

I knew a guy when I was in the army who had sex with half the guys in the barracks (I'm proud to say I wasn't one of them, thank God!), including a very open relationship he had with one young kid who slept in the bunk over him. Everybody knew what was going on and nobody seemed to care. When he got out of the service, he married an ex-nun and adopted kids just to make people think he was straight. Talk about denial! It's not just a river in Egypt! What kind of lifestyle do you call that? (That's rhetorical.)

By irateredhead

How do you know that he cheated on her while they were married? Just because he revealed to her that he was gay after they split up does not mean that WHILE THEY WERE TOGETHER he had sex with men. And even if he did, maybe he practiced safer sex and was never infected w/anything. What garbage to focus on! Instead of embracing the real message of the story, which is that she was able to maintain a friendship with this man even after their marriage ended and is able to continue being a grown up about it and support him AND speak kindly of him....rather than judge him like the rest of you. Ugh. No wonder I hate most of humanity.

By Chase

Just because hes gay does not mean he cheated on Fran during their marriage which could have resulted in the STDs you claim he could possibly have and given to her.

By gchad2003

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Sorry, Steve, but JT's facts are correct. Check with the CDC if you don'e believe it. homosexual men are by far the highest incident rate and risk of STD's and growing all the time. There is no doubt that other groups are increasing as well, but by FAR, homosexual men are at the greatest risk. You get real.

By Traci

Just because heis gay doesn't mean he cheated on her or had any diseases....can you really be that simple minded?

By D.

You mean the std's she could've gotten from the burglar who violently raped her? You think if a person is straight they don't carry diseases? You don't think having unprotected sex with those of the opposite sex, you can't catch anything? Maybe those of the opposite sex has to be weary of having sex with you.

By Steve

Gosh JT.....you sure seem to know what to be on the lookout for with regard to 'diseases' of the "gay"....LOL. Something tells ME there is something you aren't telling US....ROFLMAO!!

By Rick

Oh...you forgot to add that "AIDS is a gay disease..." or..."AIDS is God's punishment on homosexuals.." I'm sure you can think of a dozen other well-thought out, intellectual "truisms"....Oh...I just remembered...didn't it start out in Africa among heterosexuals? Damn...another theory shot!

By alex

So ignorant and uninformed. Doesn't even deserve this reply. You have so much to learn when you meet your maker one day.

By dee

You are right, they are truthaphobic. ty for the facts.

By incognito

gay people don't "pursue" a life style anymore than you "pursue" cramming as much stupidity as possible into one sentence... It's just the way everyone was born and simply can't be changed.

Wednesday 02 June

By moshiem6

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how do you marry someone and find out hes gay? is she gay to? makes you wonder

By mark

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moshiem6
What are you stupid???? They met when they were 15. Also that was at a time when you went to high school and then got married!
MILLIONS of women just like you are married to gay me and just do not know it because they are on the internet late at night and picking up guys on a web cam and making plans to meet them on their next "business" trip

By Janet

Are you serious? Makes you wonder what? That someone might live a lie to be "acceptable" to world. That's the problem with homophobia. I personally know six couples whose marriages ended when one or the other finally came out of the closet. The sad thing is they felt they had to hide in one for so long in the first place.

By Laurie

God, the ignorance out there is frightening!

By BTDT

And thus, Viagra was born.

By Audrey

If Fran is gay too that would be sweet...like if Cher came out. Even though she's like 15 years older than me, I'd date her...she's still pretty hot.

By Carol Ziegler

You ask how people can marry not knowing the other is gay? At a time, or in a culture, where being gay is not acceptable, gay men and lesbians denied their own sexual orientation, even to themselves. In many cases this led to great unhappiness, particularly where chidren were involved. It is a better day when people can be who they are.

By J9

Em....Mike Myers & his ex-wife...same thing.

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