Abbi Jacobson has two things to be proud of. Not only will her show co-created with fellow actresses A League of Their Own debuting on Amazon Prime Video in less than a week but she’s also announced that she’s engaged with her partner, actor Jodi Balfour.
Broad City’s Broad City alum and Emmy Award nominee, confirmed the announcement to People during a recent screening that marked the 30th-anniversary celebration of the original film on which the show is based.
D’Arcy Carden, Jacobson’s friend of 15 years and also her co-star in the series, commented, “It’s out. It’s great. We’re thrilled. We love [Jodi].”
“Abbi’s engaged! Abbi’s engaged! Abbi is married!” A League of Their Own’s Chante Adams yelled According to People. “We’ve been forced to conceal the news to protect … But I’m not kidding.”
Jacobson 38, who was a spokesman for the company, replied by blushing, “No, you have not. You didn’t have to conceal it. This was not a matter. It was not something that was secret.”
The newly engaged couple walked the red carpet to celebrate their first date during the Los Angeles premiere of the show on Thursday.
In the fall of last year, Jacobson posted on Instagram that she and Balfour 35 have been dating for a year, and had celebrated their anniversary.
“One Year with this remarkable human. I’m not sure how I got this fortunate,” Jacobson said in her blog post while showing kissing Balfour the cheek.
“365 days that were the most amazing ever surprise in my life,” Balfour posted on her personal page, showing the two kissings.
Jacobson gained fame for her role because she was one of the creators and actors of Comedy Central’s cult program Broad City. She was first exposed as bisexual in the year 2018.
Queer people may know South African actress Balfour from her role as the lead of The Canadian series Bomb Girls where she played the heiress Gladys Witham. This show featured the legendary queer actor Ali Liebert and followed a group of women who worked at an ammunition factory in Canada in World War II. Balfour also portrayed Jackie Kennedy in The Crown. Balfour is also expected to be part of Ted Lasso’s season to come.
Jacobson also discussed her importance in sharing stories of women who were queer in 1940s times, People reports. She specifically spoke about the possibility of having Maybelle Blair, who played in The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League where the new series and film were based, serve as an advisor for the show.
In her 90s, Blair was seen at the Tribeca Film Festival in June.
“I consider it a fantastic chance for the young girl’s ball players to recognize that they’re not on their own and that you don’t need to be ashamed,” Blair shared. “I was a liar for 75, 85 years, and it’s actually my first time to been out.”
“So many hours of research were put into the project,” Jacobson said. “But Maybelle’s perspective particularly about her experience in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League experience, what it was like to be a player at the time, and what the experience was for a transgender female in the league was a huge factor in certain our stories that we told.”
The actor added: “But at Tribeca, she didn’t come out in front of the public and that was just amazing. Don’t you feel like it’s the year 1995! I’m like, “This show must be made.’ The show was released because we created this show.”
“A League of Their Own premieres on Amazon Prime Video on August 12.