TW: Mentions of sexual assualt
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Fran Drescher has always marched to the beat of her own drum. Whether she’s dazzling on red carpets or dropping unapologetic one-liners, she’s never played by the rules — especially not when it comes to love. Now, at 67, the queen of sass and sitcoms is pulling back the curtain on her personal life, and surprise: it’s as unconventional and refreshingly honest as she is.
Fran Drescher's love life now: 'A little rotation' of companions
At 67, Fran Drescher is living life on her own terms, including how she approaches romance. Speaking to Page Six at a screening of The Friend, she admitted to enjoying friends with benefits. She said:
I have a little rotation.
Adding:
I’m Fran Drescher. What do you think?!
This isn't the first time the actress has talked about her non-traditional dating life. In 2020, she revealed she had a 'friend with benefits' who would visit about twice a month, which she considered 'more than enough.' She told People:
[We’re] very comfortable with each other, and we have our routine.
It’s always the same experience. We really don’t go out, we don’t go to restaurants, we don’t date. What we do, we do great.
These low-key encounters, she said, include relaxing in the hot tub, sharing food, chatting and watching tennis or movies. She added:
Of course we have sex. And it’s delightful, and it keeps me going.
In her defence, Drescher says she can only offer casual intimacy due to the unique role her ex-husband still plays in her life. She said:
I have my gay ex-husband who I love, and he fulfills a lot of needs.
Her ex-husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, also said:
We work together. Go out to eat. Travel together. I feel like I still have a wife.
Fran's first marriage with Jacobson
Fran Drescher met Marc Jacobson when she was 15. The couple married in 1978, both dropped out of Queens University, and eventually moved to California, where they began working together on what would become The Nanny. But behind the scenes, the couple endured a horrific trauma.
In 1985, their home was broken into by two armed men. One of them tied up Jacobson and forced him to watch while the other r**ed Drescher and a visiting friend. Both attackers were later caught, with one sentenced to life in prison.
The incident stayed private for years but was eventually uncovered by tabloids at the height of The Nanny’s success.
After the traumatic event, Jacobson suppressed questions about his sexuality, leading to inner conflict. He became controlling as a way to cope, which later became suffocating. Fran Drescher said about Jacobson's struggle:
Only in hindsight, do we now understand that he was working so hard to control his authentic self, his true orientation.
Eventually, Jacobson came out to her as bisexual. He confessed this to her during a tense but honest conversation, revealing he had been grappling with his identity for years. Drescher told Fox News in 2021:
Honestly, he did not want the marriage to end.
I needed it to end. I needed to find myself outside of the marriage and he needed to find himself outside of the marriage. He was mad at me for a while.
They divorced in 1999, the same year The Nanny also ended.
While their marriage didn't end on the best of terms, their reconnection came after Drescher was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2000. During her book tour for Cancer Schmancer, Jacobson warned her about potential press questions:
I don't want you to be thrown if when you're doing all this press that somebody says, 'Do you know that your husband is living as a gay man now?'
It was the first time she had heard the term ‘gay’ used by him.
Despite the past, their friendship has flourished. Jacobson said at a 2025 LGBTQ+ awards event:
It is a deep, deep love
Fran’s short-lived second marriage
Following her divorce, Drescher remarried in 2014. Her second husband was academic Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai, whom she met at a talk hosted by Deepak Chopra. Their marriage ended two years later.
She announced the split on Instagram with a brief message:
Shiva & I R going 2 part ways. I’m grateful 4 my time w (with) him. No regrets. Life is a journey of many chapters. Thx 4 ur support. Love is love.
In an interview with The Cut, she later described the relationship in stark terms:
The first year was bliss, the second year was agony and ecstasy, and the third year was just agony, and I said, "Enough."
While her second marriage ended quietly, another kind of reflection began to surface in Fran's life — one that had little to do with relationships and everything to do with the family she never had.
Read more:
Megan Fox welcomes baby with Machine Gun Kelly: Insider reveals where their relationship stands
Rowan Atkinson’s love life in the spotlight after daughter opens up about his divorce
Where is Yoko Ono now? John Lennon’s widow is living in peace on a 600-acre farm at 92
Sources used:
Page Six: Fran Drescher has a ‘rotation’ of friends with benefits: ‘I’m Fran Drescher! What do you think?’
People: Fran Drescher, 67, Candidly Admits She Has a ‘Rotation’ of Friends with Benefits
Mamamia: When Fran Drescher and her husband divorced, he came out as gay. Now, she enjoys a 'rotation' of friends with benefits.
The Toronto Sun: 'The Nanny' star splits from husband
Page Six: Fran Drescher feels like she ‘missed out’ on having kids
