Boy Meets World alums Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel were close friends for more than 20 years before they had a mysterious falling out as adults.
The duo starred together as childhood sweethearts Cory Matthews and Topanga Lawrence in all seven seasons of Boy Meets World and its Disney Channel spinoff Girl Meets World, though Fishel and her “Pod Meets World” cohosts Rider Strong and Will Friedle claimed that Savage cut them all off around 2020.
“Ben and I may be estranged right now and we may have our complaints about each other, but I will always love Ben and want what’s best for him,” Fishel told Variety in July 2023.
According to Fishel, Strong and Friedle, Savage was offered a cohosting spot on their “Pod Meets World” recap podcast but declined the offer.
Keep scrolling for the full timeline of Savage and Fishel’s friendship and rift:
Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel Starred on ‘Boy Meets World’ for 7 Seasons
Cory and Topanga’s blossoming love was the overarching story of Boy Meets World, which anchored ABC’s classic TGIF lineup from 1993 to 2000.
Savage and Fishel told Larry King Now in 2014 that they were lucky to have supportive adults to guide them through childhood fame.
“I think the people that were surrounding us on Boy Meets World — the producers, the teachers, our parents, our families — they were well aware of the [dangers],” Savage explained. “I think they did everything they could to keep us as grounded as possible and keep us having a normal upbringing.”
Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel Only Went on 1 Date
While Cory and Topanga were destined to be together, Savage and Fishel didn’t have the same romantic chemistry. In 2013, Fishel set the record straight over whether she and Savage actually dated in real life.
“That rumor was entirely my fault because I once said, on The Tyra Banks Show, that Ben and I went on a date, and that turned into ‘Danielle and Ben dated,’” she clarified to Maxim in 2013. “We went on one date, when I was about 15, and by the time the dinner was over we realized mutually that we were more like family than lovers.”
When E! asked Savage whether he ever had a crush on Fishel, the actor admitted in 2014, “How could you not? She’s the best. She’s a beautiful person inside and out. She’s kind and smart and everyone loves her.”
Fishel has confirmed that Savage was her first kiss, onscreen and off.
Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel Reunited on ‘Girl Meets World’
The duo reprised their roles on Boy Meets World spinoff Girl Meets World, which aired on Disney Channel from 2014 to 2017. The series centered around Cory and Topanga raising their teenage daughter Riley Matthews (Rowan Blanchard) and her little brother Auggie (August Maturo).
At the time, Savage described Fishel as a “great friend and trusted confidante,” adding that her return as Topanga was integral to making Girl Meets World a reality.
“I’m happy to be doing this with her. In fact, I don’t think I could do it without her,” he told Collider in November 2013. “It’s just been great. She’s a very special person. I can’t say enough good things about her.”
Girl Meets World served as an early career launchpad for future pop icon Sabrina Carpenter, who played Riley’s best friend Maya Hart.
Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel Were Initially Close After ‘Girl Meets World’ Ended
Savage publicly congratulated Fishel when she got engaged to rapper Jensen Karp in 2018. (Fishel and Karp tied the knot on November 4, 2018, and now share two sons: Adler, born in June 2019, and Keaton, born in August 2021.)
“Congratulations to my favorite TV wife on her engagement,” Savage wrote via Instagram at the time. “So happy for you Danielle.”
Savage was even photographed cradling Fishel and Karp’s newborn son Adler one month after the baby’s birth in 2019. He gave several interviews around that time, saying he was open to another Boy Meets World reunion.
In 2021, Savage and Fishel costarred in a Boy Meets World-themed commercial for Panera.
Ben Savage Did Not Join His Costars on ‘Pod Meets World’ Podcast
Fishel launched a Boy Meets World recap podcast called “Pod Meets World” with Strong and Friedle — who played Shawn Hunter and Eric Matthews on the sitcom, respectively — in 2022. The “Pod Meets World” hosts confirmed to Us Weekly in July 2022 that Savage was offered the chance to join the podcast.
“We have been talking about this podcast since 2019, it was Rider’s idea. When he brought it up, we talked about it all, the four of us. It was something we all were back and forth. What’s the best way to do it because that was before the ‘Office Ladies.’ It was before this was its own genre,” Fishel told Us. “And so we talked about all the different ways we could do it. And at the end of our conversations, Ben said, ‘I just don’t think it’s for me.’ And we get it. So we’re respecting his decision. And if he eventually wants to come on, we’ll leave that door open.”
Friedle added, “I hope he wants to come on.”
“Pod Meets World” has released more than 600 episodes as of publication but Savage has yet to appear as a guest.
‘Pod Meets World’ Hosts Did Not Attend Ben Savage’s Wedding
Savage and his wife, Tessa Angermeier, tied the knot in February 2023 after four years of dating. No core Boy Meets World cast members were in attendance for the wedding.
Savage and Angermeier welcomed a daughter in November 2025.
Ben Savage Ran for Office Twice in California
Savage initially campaigned to join the West Hollywood City Council in 2022 but was unsuccessful. He launched a congressional bid as a Democrat to replace Adam Schiff in the House of Representatives in 2023, though he failed to advance past the primary.
The “Pod Meets World” trio briefly addressed Savage’s political ambitions during an April 2023 episode.
“I’ll say what I say any time anybody asks me to publicly speak about politics, which is I do not publicly speak about politics,” Friedle insisted. “It’s just the way I was raised; you don’t talk about politics, you don’t talk about your sex life, you don’t talk about how much money you make, you just don’t. I do all my talking in the voting booth and I have since I was 18.”
Strong added, “When it comes to Ben, the only thing that I feel is worth saying is when we were younger Ben and I basically didn’t agree on much politically. We often found ourselves on exact opposite sides on almost every issue.”
“So I will wait and see and listen to what he has to say, just like everybody else, but I do not know Ben’s political stances on a lot of things right now,” Strong continued. “I just know in our history we didn’t always see things the same way, so that’s kind of all I’ve got to say right now.”
‘Pod Meets World’ Hosts Alleged That Ben Savage Ghosted Them
Speaking to Variety in 2023, Fishel, Friedle and Strong shed more light on their rift with Savage. According to the trio, Savage stopped speaking to them with no explanation in 2020.
“He disappeared — I wish I knew why, to this day,” Friedle insisted. “We didn’t have a fight. There’s no falling out. There was no animosity. He just woke up one day and decided, ‘I don’t want this person in my life anymore.’”
Fishel held out hope that a reconciliation was possible.
“If there’s anything this podcast has taught me, it’s that everyone is on their own journey and having their own experiences that can be perceived many different ways, depending on your POV,” she said. “Speaking for myself, Ben and I may be estranged right now and we may have our complaints about each other, but I will always love Ben and want what’s best for him. I don’t think this is the end of our story — but time will tell.”
Danielle Fishel Denied Shading Ben Savage During a ‘Boy Meets World’ Panel
Nine members of the Boy Meets World cast reunited at ‘90s Con at the Tampa Convention Center in Florida in September 2023 — though Savage did not appear. Some fans speculated that Fishel cryptically addressed her estrangement with Savage during the panel.
“Over this many years and this much time together in different work atmospheres, you have fights, you have falling outs, you have moments where you come back together,” Fishel explained. “Because we are constantly put back together, there have been times where we’ve needed space from each other, and we’ve taken long distances.”
She went on, “Yet, when you really commit to a relationship, when you really commit to this idea that we are always going to be in each other’s lives, the amount of growth and grace and forgiveness and compassion and true knowing of each other that we now have — that we never would have had had we written each other off and said, ‘I’m done with you, I don’t want to see you again.’”
Fishel later clarified via Instagram that she was not attempting to slight Savage with her comments.
“I wasn’t speaking about anyone who wasn’t on that stage with me. It was a love letter to them and not a passive aggressive attack on anyone else. Do better pls,” she wrote.
Danielle Fishel Denied That She ‘Hates’ Ben Savage
The “Pod Meets World” host’s estrangement with Savage came up during a heated reunion with former costar Maitland Ward — who played Rachel McGuire on Boy Meets World — on a February 2025 episode.
While discussing her own conflicts with her former costars, Ward claimed that Fishel, Strong and Friedle “hate Ben [Savage] and you guys hate [series creator] Michael [Jacobs].”
Fishel shot back, “We absolutely do not hate either of them.”
“Ben is one of the most important people I’ve ever met in my life, and I can’t stand the fact that he won’t speak to us,” Friedle clarified. “And that’s what it is: He won’t speak to us … In the middle of a conversation with Ben, he just bailed on me.”
Ben Savage Did Not Attend Danielle Fishel’s ‘Boy Meets World’ Tribute on ‘Dancing With the Stars’
Fishel competed with pro dancer Pasha Pashkov on Dancing With the Stars season 34 in 2025. As part of Dedication Night, Fishel performed jive set to the Boy Meets World theme song, with her costar William Daniels — who played Mr. Feeny — making a cameo in the dance number.
Before the tribute dance aired, Fishel confirmed on “Pod Meets World” that eight former Boy Meets World costars would attend the performance — though Savage was once again absent.
Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle Hope for Reconciliation With Ben Savage
During a June 2026 interview with People, Fishel and Friedle confirmed that they had not given up hope of making peace with Savage.
“I love imagining him in this new chapter of his life as a dad. I know he has had a baby girl,” she said. “He’s now a husband. So I love just thinking about him [in that capacity].”
Fishel added, “We talked a lot about how he looked forward to being a dad someday. So I like imagining this phase of life that he’s in now. It makes me sad sometimes when I think about the fact that I would love to just know, like, ‘How’s it going? What’s happening now? What are the milestones that are being checked off?’”
Fishel acknowledged that the “Pod Meets World” hosts had now reached “a place of immense understanding and grace” over Savage refusing to join them on the podcast.
“Not everybody wants to talk about uncomfortable truths,” she said. “The three of us said it was something that we did want to do. Although we were nervous, it was a journey we were willing and excited to go down.”
