Abbi Jacobson has revealed a precaution she and her wife, Jodi Balfour, sometimes take on road trips across the United States. “As my wife and I drive, if we drive across the country, there are states where we are sisters. In case,” she said.
The 42-year-old Broad City co-creator shared the arrangement with Page Six at a November 9 screening of her animated film Tangles. The event took place at Regal Union Square in New York, and her interview was published on November 14.
Jacobson was discussing how the couple approaches their safety while traveling. She did not identify particular states or describe a confrontation that had prompted them to start presenting themselves as siblings.
The screening supported Hilarity for Charity, the nonprofit founded by Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen. The organization helps families affected by Alzheimer’s disease, including through programs supporting the relatives who care for loved ones.
Jacobson Reflects on Working Openly in Hollywood
‘Broad City’ star Abbi Jacobson details ‘wild’ lengths she and wife, Jodi Balfour, go to feel safe as a gay couple https://t.co/Nfhq7iL98D https://t.co/EPU8WFpicL
— New York Post (@nypost) November 14, 2026
Jacobson said she feels fortunate to be able to work openly as a gay actress. She acknowledged that many people before her had not been able to be as open about their lives.
The conversation also turned to Broad City, which she created with Ilana Glazer. The Comedy Central series ran for five seasons between 2014 and 2019, following fictionalized versions of its creators through work, friendships and everyday mishaps in New York.
“It was like the most fun I’ve had,” Jacobson said of making the show. She was pleased that it continues to connect with viewers years after its finale and described that lasting response as one of the rewards of the project.
A London Proposal and a Brooklyn Wedding
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In their June 2024 conversation with Cultured, Jacobson and Balfour looked back on the online introduction that brought them together in 2020. Their first meeting took place at Jacobson’s Los Angeles home, where they initially kept their distance because of the pandemic.
Jacobson later proposed during a five-week visit to London, where Balfour was working. She had brought a childhood toy ring for the occasion and waited until the final weekend to ask. Balfour had a surprise of her own: she had a ring ready for Jacobson, too.
They married at Public Records in Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood. Heavy rain forced them to move their planned outdoor ceremony and dinner inside. Friends watched from stools and booths or stood behind plants, and a buffet replaced the seated meal.
The Westerlies emerged from the kitchen playing Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke,” leading the newlyweds toward the dance floor. Jacobson and Balfour chose Aretha Franklin’s “Don’t Let Me Lose This Dream” for their first dance.
Playing Sarah Leavitt in Tangles
Directed by Leah Nelson, Tangles adapts Sarah Leavitt’s graphic memoir about her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Jacobson voices Sarah, an artist building an independent life in San Francisco during the 1990s, while Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays her mother, Midge.
“I’m playing a real person, who I got to meet,” Jacobson said during the screening’s Q&A, according to Deadline. Reading Leavitt’s book and meeting its author made her conscious of the responsibility involved in bringing those experiences to the screen.
She particularly valued recording sessions with fellow cast members in the same room, something she described as unusual for voice work. Making eye contact and responding directly to another performer helped her stay connected through difficult scenes and comedic moments. “It’s always better when you’re in the room,” she said.
New York’s IFC Center has announced a November 27 opening for the film. Distributors Independent Film Company and Sapan Studio plan a broader theatrical expansion in early 2027.
