Saved By The Bell Icon Tiffani Thiessen Reveals How Close She Is With Her Former Co-Stars

It’s been 34 years since fans were first introduced to the kids of Bayside High on Saved by the Bell. The beloved sitcom ran for four seasons and spawned two spinoffs, two TV movies, and even a Peacock reboot. In addition to the reboot, much of the cast have remained close, and now Tiffani Thiessen is getting honest about who she is the closest with.

The Beverly Hills, 90210 alum was a guest on the iHeart podcast Just B with Bethenny Frankel, where the two got into Thiessen’s career. Frankel asked her guest if she’s still close to the people from way back when, and the answer should make Saved by the Bell fans feel both nostalgic and happy:

I’m still very close with that [Saved by the Bell] cast – Elizabeth [Berkley], Mario [Lopez] and Mark-Paul [Gosselaar] and all of them. I mean, I just saw Mario not long ago. … I probably see Mario the most. I would say I have the longest, deepest, relationship with Mark-Paul, because my husband and Mark-Paul are also very close. But he just moved from L.A., so he’s not here in L.A. anymore, sadly. So, I would say Mario and Mark-Paul are probably the ones I’m closest to.

While I didn’t have any doubt that the former co-stars were still friends after seeing them in the various Saved by the Bell projects, getting that confirmation after all these years is pretty great. It must be hard to keep that type of friendship going across three decades. It just shows that even after graduation, they kept in touch.

Just last month, Tiffani Thiessen and Mario Lopez even reunited to celebrate Saved by the Bell’s 34th anniversary. The former co-stars shared some throwbacks to their time on the NBC series, both behind the scenes and from random episodes. While Kelly and Slater weren’t endgame, it’s clear that the friendship between their portrayers was (and remains) strong.

The Saved by the Bell reboot brought much of the original cast together. The Peacock series only lasted for two seasons before the streamer canceled it, but it was just enough to bring that nostalgia back. Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez were the first OGs announced, followed by Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen.

Zack and Kelly were still very much together and with a son, while Jessie and Slater were fighting feelings they had since high school. Lark Voorhies also returned as fashionista Lisa Turtle, and following Dustin Diamond’s death, the gang paid tribute to him and his adorkable character, Screech.

Saved by the Bell has ranked as one of the most popular '90s shows streaming for good reason. No matter how much time has passed, it is still being discovered and revisited by fans. Getting confirmation that at least some of the cast is still close to this day makes viewing the sitcom even better. If not in the form of another reboot, hopefully a Saved by the Bell reunion happens soon because I miss seeing them together.

Megan Behnke
Freelance TV News Writer

Passionate writer. Obsessed with anything and everything entertainment, specifically movies and television. Can get easily attached to fictional characters.