For years, The Nanny delighted audiences with the undeniable chemistry between Charles Shaughnessy’s Maxwell Sheffield and Fran Drescher’s Fran Fine. Their slow-burn romance was a central element of the show, culminating in the pair finally admitting their love for each other. However, while fans adored the onscreen romance, Shaughnessy recently revealed that his own children were less than thrilled about those intimate moments.
In a candid interview, Shaughnessy shared that his kids, who were young at the time, found it unsettling to see their father kissing someone who wasn’t their mother on television. He described how, despite his attempts to explain that it was all part of acting, they struggled with the idea of their dad sharing affectionate scenes with another woman. This reaction, though amusing to some, underscores the challenges actors face when balancing their professional and personal lives.
Shaughnessy also reflected on how the relationship between Maxwell and Fran developed, emphasizing that while the characters were fictional, the emotional connections they portrayed felt very real to audiences. For his children, however, separating reality from fiction was not as simple. He recalled moments when they would express their disapproval, leading to some lighthearted family conversations about the nature of acting.
Despite their initial discomfort, Shaughnessy’s children eventually came to understand that their father’s work was just that—work. Still, his revelation adds an amusing layer to the legacy of The Nanny, proving that sometimes the biggest critics aren’t the audience, but the family watching at home.
