Peter Marc Jacobson, Fran Drescher’s Ex-Husband: 5 Fast Facts

Peter Marc Jacobsen Fran Drescher Husband

Getty Fran Drescher (R) and Peter Marc Jacobson attend the Entertainment Weekly & PEOPLE New York Upfronts Party on May 13, 2019 in New York City.

Fran Drescher, star of the ‘90s sitcom The Nanny, was married to Peter Marc Jacobson for years before the show was created and first aired. The couple divorced after moving to Los Angeles.

The cast of the show reunited for a reading of the pilot episode via zoom as a “pandemic treat” for fans. Drescher, originally teased the reading on her Twitter page last week. In response to a fan asking for The Nanny to be placed on a streaming service, the star wrote, “Awe hang in! We’ve got a surprise for you! Announcement this week! Stay tuned!”

The announcement wasn’t, as some fans may have hoped, that the show would be coming to a streaming service. It was that the cast would be performing a virtual table read of the pilot.

“Laughter is the best medicine! So, in these challenging times, Petah and I thought, wouldn’t it be great if we pulled together the original cast of ‘The Nanny’ for a virtual read of the pilot?” said Drescher in a statement. Petah refers to the show’s co-creator and Drescher’s ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson.

Here’s what you should know about Jacobson:


1. He Was Married to Drescher for 20 Years

Drescher and Jacobson got married in 1978 and later moved to Los Angeles together to launch their careers in Hollywood.

After being separated for years, the couple divorced in 1999. They had no children together, and they are still amicable, having worked together on the 2011 TV series Happily Divorced, which was loosely based on their lives.

After their separation, Drescher was diagnosed with cancer and had a radical hysterectomy. Her doctors told her she would probably not have been able to have a baby if they had tried at the time.


2. Jacobson Came Out as Gay After Getting Divorced

After their divorce in 1999, Jacobson came out as gay. He told Drescher that he was gay after their marriage of over 20 years ended, but he had previously told her he thought he may have been bisexual.

“He came out as gay,” she told Fox News. “So he’s officially my gay ex-husband. We met when we were 15. We created ‘The Nanny.’ That became my baby. We were excellent writing and producing partners. And we’re now the best of friends. My parents still view him as a son.”

She told the outlet that denying who he really was had made Jacobson angry and controlling, which led to her leaving him at the height of The Nanny. 

“Honestly, he did not want the marriage to end,” she explained. “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.”


3. He Was a Writer on ‘The Nanny’

Jacobson is a television writer, director and producer. He worked on The Nanny for 145 episodes as a writer and 122 as an executive producer.

Jacobson also wrote What I Like About You for 5 episodes from 2004 to 2006. Happily Divorced, which he wrote and produced alongside Drescher, was around for 10 episodes in 2011. He also directed two episodes of the series.

Since then, he has worked as an actor in shows like Matlock, The Nanny, Spread and Happily Divorced. His first credited acting role was in Gorp in 1980.


4. He and Drescher Are Still Best Friends

While some divorced couples manage to stay friends, Drescher and Jacobson may be different in that they consider themselves best friends.

Now, the two often appear on each others’ Instagram pages where they share images of their lives. The images often include the hashtags “#happilydivorced” and “#grateful.”

On Jacobson’s 62nd birthday in 2019, he posted a photo of the couple hugging and smiling, and the two spent the holidays together, having photos uploaded from holiday parties.


5. Drescher and Jacobson Met in High School

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Good health to you & yours. It’s 2020 let’s do it all better!

A post shared by Fran Drescher (@officialfrandrescher) on Dec 31, 2019 at 10:02pm PST

Jacobson and Drescher met when they were both 15 years old and in high school. First, they became best friends and then they started a romantic relationship.

A few years after they finished high school, they got married and both attended and then later dropped out of Queens University. After dropping out, they moved to California and started work on The Nanny. 

The Nanny pilot table read is available now on the Sony Pictures YouTube Channel.

READ NEXT: The Nanny Reunion Live Stream Time & Date

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