Fran Drescher, the American actress whose new sitcom 'Happily Divorced' premieres on 15th June 2011, describes her gay ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson as her "best friend", reports People Magazine. Fran Drescher's new show about a woman whose husband turns out to be homosexual is based on her own experience.
After 21 years of marriage, Drescher's husband revealed that he was gay in the 1990s'. Speaking of her reaction to the news, the actress said, "He had already been living a gay life away from me after we divorced, and he said, 'I don't want you to be shocked. I'm dating men". The actress says the revelation didn't entirely surprise her, saying, "During our marriage he had told me he might be bisexual, but he wanted to stay married. By the time he told me, I had survived uterine cancer. Nothing could shake me". Since the end of their marriage, the couple have rebuilt their friendship, saying, "It's great that we had the ability and the wisdom to reinvent our relationship. All those years weren't for nothing. We're very tight. We're best friends". The 53-year-old has worked to support homosexual rights issues since her ex-husband came out.
Fran Drescher made her screen debut in the 1977 blockbuster 'Saturday Night Fever' and went on to appear in 'This Is Spinal Tap', 'Summer of Fear' and 'Doctor Detroit'. She achieved wider fame after starring in her own sitcom 'The Nanny' in 1993, for which she was nominated for two EMMY AWARDS.