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Boy Meets World cast members Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle have been stoking up nostalgia amongst fans over the last few years via their rewatch podcast, Pod Meets World. The three actors have been talking about a variety of topics related to the beloved TGIF sitcom, including moments they loved and storylines they disliked. Someone they haven’t been reminiscing with is co-star and friend Ben Savage, with whom they've been estranged, and they’ve said quite a bit about the situation.
Rider Strong Recalls Reaching Out To Ben Savage About The Rewatch Podcast Before The Estrangement
Around the time Pod Meets World premiered in 2022, Fishel addressed Savage’s absence, explaining that he didn’t want to be a part of the show because he wasn’t sure it was “his thing.” It was in 2023, though, that Fishel and her co-stars revealed, during an interview with Variety, that Savage eventually “ghosted” them. They discuss this topic more in their documentary, Doc Meets World, in which Strong recalled (via Us Weekly) what happened after he, Friedle and Fishel reached out to Savage:
Ben refused to do the [rewatch] podcast [‘Pod Meets World’], but we still communicated with him, still on friendly terms, we thought. But he unfollowed us on Instagram and blocked our phone numbers. I feel sorry that he’s missing out on the experience that Danielle [Fishel] and Will [Friedle] and I are having.
On the ‘90s teen sitcom, Strong played Shawn Hunter – the best friend of Savage’s Cory Matthews – and reprised the role on the spinoff series, Girl Meets World (which he only learned about in the press). Despite the bond between their two characters, Strong said he and Savage were “never close.” Still, he seems to feel bad about no longer having him in his life and, in the doc, Strong recalled telling Savage he was “really going to miss [him] doing” the podcast and that he thought his former scene partner was “making a mistake.”
Danielle Fishel Gets Real About Missing Her Friendship With Ben Savage
Savage and Fishel spent a lot of time together, since she played Cory’s girlfriend and eventual wife, Topanga Lawrence. Fishel and Savage also starred alongside each other on Girl Meets World, and they apparently remained close until the estrangement. While chatting with People, Fishel recalled how she and Savage looked forward to the time that he would become a dad, and he and his wife, Tessa Angermeier, welcomed their first child in 2025. As for how she feels about Savage not joining the podcast, Fishel said this:
….I also really come from a place of immense understanding and grace when it comes to the fact that not everybody wants to look back over their past with a fine-tooth comb. Not everybody wants to talk about uncomfortable truths. Honestly, there's nothing wrong with not wanting to do that. The three of us said it was something that we did want to do. And although we were nervous, it was a journey we were willing and excited to go down.
The Dancing with the Stars alum went on to say she “would never try to shove that perspective down somebody's throat and make them do it.” She can understand that the podcast project wasn’t for Savage, but she’s still hopeful that “when the time is right,” the story of [their] friendship will continue” unless she’s proven “wrong.”
How Will Friedle Is Still Trying To Connect With His On-Screen Brother
Will Friedle is certainly someone who recognizes how much BMW still resonates with fans, which factored into his decision to take part in the rewatch podcast. Known for his role as the kooky Eric Matthews, Friedle was also disappointed when the man who played his TV sibling opted not to join the podcast. Friedle told Variety in 2023 that the estrangement was a “sore subject” due to his “shared history” with Savage. At one point, Friedle even called Savage once a day for 30 days. Per the doc, Friedle was blocked, but he’s not giving up hope:
It's been hard. I mean, just today, literally we were recording an episode this morning of Pod Meets World and there came a question that we all wanted to know, that we know if Ben had been on with us, it would have been answered like that and we would have heard a great story. There's so many times I want to pick up the phone and still do. I know I'm shouting into the void, but I'm going to keep doing it. I haven't given up on my friend. And I'm hoping that he comes back into our lives at some point, and when he does, we're going to have a lot to talk about.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether such a conversation will actually take place. But, on the other side of the equation, some may wonder how Savage feels about his former friends’ attempts to reach out. He hasn’t formally responded, as of this writing, but he may or may not have alluded to it in a post.
Did Ben Savage Allude To The Drama With A Social Media Post?
In June 2025, Savage shared a post on Instagram, and it includes a couple of photos of him and his baby daughter. What’s most notable about this post, regarding the actor/former political candidate’s estrangement from his friends, is the two-word caption: “Good company”. Check out the post down below:
So is that brief message simply a brief way for Savage to signify his joy over being with his child? Or is that a veiled dig at Savage’s friends to signify that he’s content with the “company” he’s keeping now? It could very well be the former, and some fans could just be reading too deeply into this. Still, given this estrangement, it’s honestly hard not to consider whether there’s a double meaning here.
In any case, though, there doesn’t seem to be any true momentum when it comes to a potential reconciliation between Ben Savage and his former co-stars. We, of course, can’t say with certainty that he’ll absolutely never talk to Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong and Will Friedle ever again. And, if that happens, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if the three podcasters were to inform fans of that long-hoped-for encounter.
Stream all seven seasons of Boy Meets World – and the three seasons of spinoff series Girl Meets World – now using a Disney+ subscription.
