Love truly does conquer all—secret or not. In Netflix’s new documentary A Secret Love, couple Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel discuss their decades-long relationship spanning from 1947 to present day. The documentary shares the couple’s history—including how Donahue played women’s professional baseball league, inspiring the hit movie A League of Their Own. She was on the Peoria Redwings team for multiple seasons. And she met Henschel during that time.
Netflix says the documentary tells the “real-life story of the women who remained closeted for most of their lives. This documentary follows Terry and Pat back to when they met for the first time, through their professional lives in Chicago, coming out to their conservative families and grappling with whether or not to get married. Facing the hardships of aging and illness, their love proves resilient as they enter the home stretch.”
Watch the trailer:
Aww.
After meeting when they were 22, Henschel would travel with Donahue. As mentioned, she played for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The League would send its players to charm school and required them to wear skirts to games as part of an organized effort to counter a perception that they were gay.
After watching the trailer, it isn’t hard to see why these two women are so compelling. Directed by Donahue’s great nephew Chris Bolan, the documentary shows how the prejudices of the world made it extremely difficult to be together openly for much of their lives. This despite great love marking their lives. Although they lived together for decades, Henschel and Donahue didn’t come out to their families until they were in their eighties. Henschel told TIME magazine “that the years she spent keeping the relationship a secret was ‘just second nature,’ but telling the world the truth allowed them both to feel like they’d opened up.”
A Secret Love premieres April 29 Netflix.
Featured Image: Netflix