Fran Drescher Says Dating Someone Less Successful Is 'Fun for a While' Until 'They Resent You'

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Fran Drescher knows what she wants in a partner.

The Nanny star opened up about the horrors of dating — both in-person and online — and what she's learned since her 1999 divorce in a recent interview with E! News.

During the conversation, Drescher, 64, spoke about her most recent dating experiences and some of the obstacles that she has faced. On dating apps, in particular, the actress said it's difficult to find someone who isn't exaggerating a certain part of their life.

"I tried one app once and I found that none of the guys seemed to be honest about how they presented themselves," she explained to the outlet. "They weren't as successful as their profile suggested, some of them smoked."

"All in all, I think that they kind of fudge their age, they fudge their accomplishments," she noted. "And although I've been with guys who weren't as successful as I am, I've learned the hard way that it's fun for a while but then but then eventually they begin to resent you for paying for everything, and for having more than they have, and for being more successful than they are."

"It starts to chip away at the male ego," she added. "So I'm not gonna do that anymore because it's too painful for me. I don't wanna be resented for my success."

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In addition to knowing what she wants in a partner, Drescher also won't waste her time when it comes to dates that aren't going well.

The actress — who guest-starred on NBC's Mr. Mayor Tuesday alongside Ted Danson — recounted instances where differences between her and her date were obvious and explained why she had no problems asking for the check early.

"I've been on dates with guys who we got into a fight about how we would raise this imaginary kid that we were never gonna have because we clearly were completely different people who would have different styles of parenting," she recalled. "Anybody that ever says anything that even suggests or hints at any kind of prejudice of anybody, that is like, 'OK, I have a headache, we're not even gonna order dinner.'"

Though she's had her fair share of dating disasters, Drescher is still hopeful to find love.

"I think I'm at a place right now where I'm just beginning to want to stick my toe back in the water and put the word out there to look for me," she told E! News. "After my last relationship and certainly through COVID, [I went through] a period where I kind of got more into having a relationship with myself and that's been going very well."

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Drescher was married to Peter Marc Jacobson for 21 years but the pair split in 1999, and Jacobson came out as gay two years later.

"He got in touch with his true orientation," Drescher told PEOPLE in 2011. "I can't blame him for that."

"Surviving cancer put everything into perspective," she added, referencing her uterine cancer battle. "I just wanted him to be happy."

Jacobson, 64, recalled, "I still couldn't even say the word 'gay,' but I confessed to Fran that I was dating men."

The pair, who were high school sweethearts, have maintained a "tight" friendship since. "We work together. Go out to eat. Travel together. I feel like I still have a wife," Jacobson said.

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP/Getty Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson

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The Happily Divorced actress later married Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai in September 2014 but they split in 2016.

In January 2020, Drescher opened up about having a "friend with benefits" who she spent intimate time with every month.

"It's delightful and delicious," the actress dished to Page Six at the time. "[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," said Drescher. "We talk, we have good conversations."

"Of course we have sex," she added, "and it's delightful and it keeps me going."