The Women fell in Love in 1947, when norms around living openly as a gay person in the United States were far from what they are today. Though essentially inseparable from the moment they met, Donahue and Henschel kept their true relationship a secret for more than 6 decades.
This show is produced by Ryan Murphy the film was directed by the couple’s great-nephew Chris Bolan and will be released on the streaming platform on April 29.
Henschel shares in A Secre Love that she had dated a few men, many of whom died under seperate tragic circumstances, before she met Donahue when she was about 18. All of these Strange Things are happening, and I thought, this is not what I was supposed to do, she says in the movie. That was before I met Terry that changed everythng.
Donahue, who died in 2019 at the age of 93, left unburdened after coming out, Bolan tells Times she didn’t want to go to the grave feeling like she’d lived a lie, he says. The project made its way to Blumhouse, best known for horror and social thriller films like Get Out, by way of producer Alexa Fogel’s longstanding relationship with Jeremy Gold, co-president of Blumhouse Television. Ryan and I collaborated on The Normal Heart and we share a passion in championing important, untold stories, Jason Blum, who served as executive producer alongside Gold, told TIME in an email.
