Fran Drescher believes that her diagnosis with cancer and being raped ten years prior are “poetically linked.”
The 59-year-old star of The Nanny gave a candid interview with Studio 10 in which she addressed her horrific sexual assault.
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“I really didn’t deal with my pain for many, many, many years – with the rape. So, when you don’t do that…I mean, I ended up with cancer,” Drescher said. “So, it kind of ends up being very poetic in where the body decides to break down and create disease.”
In dealing with the trauma, Drescher created a mantra to help her stay optimistic.
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“You will never be the same. But whatever that is, forge forward with that and turn your pain into purpose which is what I always do,” she said.
Fran’s ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson also spoke out about the home invasion when his then-wife was raped back in 1985.
“The whole rape experience was so surreal,” he said. “Because people who talk about having guns in the house, it would not have helped. It could have been used against us.”
Peter sought therapy and physiological help to deal with the trauma. In doing so, he made a realization that he was gay, according to Daily Mail. He and Fran divorced in 1999.
Fran Drescher was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2000. Seven years later, she launched the Cancer Shmancer movement, which was a non-profit organization formed in order to raise money for women battling cancer.
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Even though they separated ways, Peter and Fran are still close friends. They went on to star in a TV program titled Happily Divorced which focused on their breakup.
The former couple also famously co-created the CBS sitcom The Nanny. The series ran for six seasons during the years 1993 to 1999.
In regards to The Nanny, Drescher says there was one storyline that resulted in the show’s demise. The plot point she is referring to was when her character and Mr. Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy) finally got together.
“This romance ultimately led to the demise of the show,” she said. “When a show is built around a love that can’t happen, sexual tension, you have to keep it that way. As much as you want the people to get together, as soon as they do, people start tuning out.”
