Who Is Fran Drescher's Ex-Husband? All About Peter Marc Jacobson (and How Their Unique Love Story Inspired a Show)

Fran Drescher and her ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson are happily divorced.

The Nanny alum and nan TV writer were joined for 21 years earlier they divided successful 1999. It wasn't until 2 years aft their divorcement that Jacobson revealed to Drescher that he is gay.

“He sewage successful touch pinch his existent orientation,” Drescher told PEOPLE successful 2011. “I can’t blasted him for that.”

Although their matrimony ended, nan erstwhile mates now person a narration arsenic friends and proceed to collaborate, co-creating Happily Divorced, which is based connected their real-life experiences.

“We activity together. Go retired to eat. Travel together. I consciousness for illustration I still person a wife,” Jacobson said. That aforesaid year, Drescher pointed retired to CNN that sometimes group who “weren't meant to beryllium married” are alternatively “meant to beryllium thing other pinch each other.”

“And we put arsenic overmuch activity into having a successful divorcement arsenic we did successful trying to person a successful marriage. And it takes that benignant of dedication,” she said. “But arsenic a consequence of that, we're now nan champion of friends. We’ve reinvented nan relationship. It sits connected different support successful our life.”

So who is Fran Drescher's ex-husband? Here's everything to cognize astir Peter Marc Jacobson and his narration pinch nan actress.

Jacobson and Drescher were precocious schoolhouse sweethearts

Jacobson and Drescher met erstwhile they were 15 years aged successful precocious school, wherever they were some successful nan theatre program, nan erstwhile mates told TV Land.

Speaking to Get Out successful 2015, Jacobson recalled, “In precocious schoolhouse they had theatre classes, and astatine nan clip we were some actors, but still we would do directing, lighting, you did everything.”

After school, nan 2 would spell location and watch TV together. "Her mother utilized to look astatine america and think, 'Oh my god, what is he going to do to make a living?' Yeah, we were fortunate it really happened," Jacobson said.

He and Drescher sewage joined successful 1978

The precocious schoolhouse sweethearts sewage joined successful 1978 erstwhile they were 21 years old. Jacobson later admitted to PEOPLE that he "buried" his feelings erstwhile he felt an attraction to men and was wished to proceed surviving nan accepted manner of those astir him.

“I grew up successful Flushing, Queens. You joined astatine 21, had a large wedding successful Great Neck and lived happily ever after,” nan TV writer said.

Jacobson and Drescher person worked together

While they were married, nan brace co-created nan show The Nanny starring Drescher arsenic a nanny to nan children of a able widower. The CBS sitcom ran for six seasons from 1993 to 1999.

Over a decade aft Jacobson and Drescher’s divorce, nan friends exes co-created nan TV Land sitcom Happily Divorced astir a female whose hubby comes retired arsenic cheery aft 18 years of marriage.

“It’s cathartic, putting it retired there,” nan character told PEOPLE of nan show. “It helps maine to beryllium reflective.”

In January 2020, PEOPLE confirmed that Drescher was adapting The Nanny into a Broadway musical alongside her ex-husband.

Jacobson initially told Drescher he was bisexual

During their marriage, Jacobson confessed to Drescher that he mightiness beryllium bisexual, but he wanted to enactment married. Meanwhile, she did not want to punish Jacobson for being honorable astir his feelings, she explained to PEOPLE.

"Once he sewage successful touch pinch his confusion, he did beryllium maine down, and he said, 'I deliberation I'm bisexual but I'm making nan choice—I emotion you, I emotion our life together and I want to walk my life pinch you,' '' Drescher shared during an quality connected The Oprah Show successful 2014.

She added, "And I, who was astatine that constituent Miss Super Woman and not successful touch pinch really it was really affecting me, felt for illustration 'My God, he's being truthful honorable pinch me. He must really emotion me.' "

They didn't speak for a twelvemonth aft they divided

In nan end, it was Drescher who ended their matrimony aft much than 2 decades together. Suppressing his sexuality had made Jacobson “angry and controlling,” he told PEOPLE.

“It was incredibly difficult astatine first,” Drescher said of leaving. “I needed to beryllium my ain woman. I had ne'er been successful touch pinch my feelings.”

The actress, who told big Oprah Winfrey that she “felt for illustration a vertebrate successful a gilded cage,” said that Jacobson begged her not to time off him. But erstwhile The Nanny ended, nan writer moved to New York, and nan erstwhile mates didn't speak for a year.

Drescher’s crab test brought them backmost together

In 2000, Drescher was diagnosed with uterine cancer. “I sewage a telephone from her head and she told maine Fran has cancer,” Jacobson shared successful an question and reply pinch Australian talk show Studio 10. “I hadn’t spoken to her since that past time — I was very angry, because I didn’t want to get divorced, she did. I wasn’t retired yet.”

Drescher’s test led to them rekindling their friendship. “You recognize really precious life is,” Jacobson told PEOPLE. “Any infinitesimal spent connected dislike is simply a infinitesimal wasted.”

He came retired aft his and Drescher's divorcement

Two years aft their divorce, Jacobson realized he was gay.

"I conscionable knew that location was thing that was not right, because I thought astir different men sometimes,” he told Get Out. “I felt for illustration I didn’t want to cheat connected her. I had each that worldly moving successful my head, and that was a large problem for me. I felt for illustration possibly I was cheating successful my head. I talked to galore therapists astir it, and they each said, ‘No, you’re not gay.’ ”

However, aft moving to New York by himself and declining to spell connected a day pinch Sharon Stone, Jacobson joked he started to recognize that he whitethorn not beryllium willing successful women altogether. “That benignant of clicked successful my head: that immoderate red-blooded consecutive man would spell connected a day pinch Sharon Stone," he said.

Eventually, he came retired to Drescher. He recalled to PEOPLE that astatine nan clip he “still couldn’t” opportunity nan connection “gay,” but confessed to Drescher that he “was making love men.”

“Surviving crab put everything into perspective,” she said of her reaction. “I conscionable wanted him to beryllium happy.”

He was supportive of Drescher's 2nd matrimony

When Drescher married her 2nd husband, Shiva Ayyadurai, successful 2014, Jacobson wrote her a missive successful which he told her that she taught him "how to emotion somebody," he told Get Out. The missive continued, "And I’m truthful happy that you person recovered personification that you genuinely love. I’m conscionable truthful happy for you. That’s each I want.”

While he and Drescher are nary longer married, Jacobson said that they are still "soulmates."

“You know, I genuinely want her to beryllium happy. I conscionable want her to beryllium happy. I emotion her truthful much," he said.