Fran Drescher Reveals ‘Friend With Benefits’

Fran Drescher is enjoying the single life. Though The Nanny star recently revealed that she has a secret to helping her tolerate it: a friend with benefits. Speaking with PageSix, Drescher said she’s “kind of dating myself and it’s going quite well.”

“I have my gay ex-husband who I love and he fulfills a lot of needs,” Drescher continued. “I have someone on the side who is a friend with benefits. It’s delightful and delicious but I’ve got a big life.”

Drescher, 62, said that given her schedule, she isn’t able to commit to a more conventional, full-time relationship. So, practically speaking, it’s the ideal situation for her.

“[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. He comes over, we hang out and we do the hot tub and I make us some food and we lay in bed and maybe we’ll watch tennis together, whatever it is, or a movie. We talk, we have good conversations.”

“Of course, we have sex and it’s delightful and it keeps me going,” she added with a laugh. However, she didn’t reveal the man’s identity, so it’ll remain a secret for now.

Drescher’s career goes back to the late 1970s, though she’s best known for the role of saleswoman-turned-caregiver Fran Fine in the CBS sitcom The Nanny. It ran for six seasons from 1993 to 1999 and was co-created by Peter Marc Jacobson along with Drescher. It co-starred Charles Shaughnessy as British widower Maxwell, who hires Fine to take care of his three children. Over the course of its run, the two characters fell in love and had children of their own.

There’s been talk of rebooting or reviving the series for a number of years now, with Drescher usually expressing some interest without giving any specifics. Back in April, she teased that she had some new ideas on how to revisit the idea, as well as teased a younger cast. However, she cautioned it was still early in the process, implying there’s been no real commitment from anyone involved.

In the meantime, Drescher will be returning to the world of sitcom stardom in the upcoming NBC series Indebted, which is slated to premiere next month. Previously titled Uninsured, the show stars Drescher and Steven Weber as parents who are forced to move back in with their son, played by Adam Pally.

Indebted premieres Feb. 6 on NBC.