Yahoo Lifestyle After Admitting To Calling Him “Every Single Day” For A Month, “Boy Meets World” Star Will Friedle Has Said That He “Can’t Stand The Fact” Ben Savage Won’t Speak To Him
Back in 2022, Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong, and Will Friedle — three of the core former cast members of Boy Meets World — launched a hugely popular rewatch podcast called Pod Meets World, and ever since, there has been one major question on everybody’s lips: Where is Ben Savage?
After all, Ben completes the quartet of young stars who shot to fame on the ABC sitcom that ran for seven seasons between 1993 and 2000, with the actor-turned-politician just 11 years old when he landed the role of the titular “boy,” Cory Matthews. Danielle was 12 when she was cast as his love interest, Topanga Lawrence, Rider was 13 and played Cory’s best friend Shawn Hunter, and Eric was 17 when he landed the role of Eric Matthews, Cory’s big brother.
It was initially thought that all four stars had remained close in the years since Boy Meets World’s finale as they regularly attended conventions together, and they even all reprised their roles for the show’s sequel series Girl Meets World, which premiered in 2014. This show ran for three seasons, with Ben and Danielle series regulars, and Will and Rider having multiple guest appearances.
When Pod Meets World first launched, the hosts said that they had invited Ben to be a part of it, and respected his decision not to be. But in a 2023 interview with Variety, they admitted that there’s a lot more to the situation than meets the eye as they reflected on the “sore subject” of their relationship with Ben.
In the profile, the trio explained that they began discussing the podcast long before it actually launched, and Ben was always “very adamant that it was not for him.”
Danielle clarified: “The time between those conversations and the time we actually started the podcast was a significant amount of time.”
And while he wasn’t interested in being on the pod, it didn’t seem as though there were any hard feelings between Ben and his former castmates — especially as he supported Danielle when her first son was born early and had to spend time in the NICU back in 2019. She recalled: “We were just so, so close, especially during that time. He was checking in with me regularly.”
But just one year later, in 2020, Ben apparently abruptly cut Danielle, Rider, and Will from his life, with Danielle telling Variety: “He ghosted us.”
“He disappeared — I wish I knew why, to this day,” Will added. “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."
At the time of the interview, all three stars confirmed that none of them had spoken to Ben for three years — but not for lack of trying. In fact, Will confessed to calling Ben every single day for a month to try and find out what had happened.
He explained: “I finally sent a text saying: ‘I’ve known you for 30 years, what’s going on?' I said: ‘I’m gonna call you every day until you tell me not to call you anymore.’ That lasted about three weeks or a month, every single day."
Detailing why this loss was so painful for him, Will added: “I’ve known him since he was 11 years old, and we have a shared history. And we were doing these conventions together, and we were getting to know each other as adults, and then he just kind of went: ‘I’m done with you.’ I tried and tried and tried for months, until finally, my wife was like: ‘Why are you doing this to yourself? He obviously doesn’t want you in his life.’”
Despite all of this, Danielle suggested that the door is open for Ben should he want to get in touch, sharing: “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.”
And on Monday’s episode of Pod Meets World, Will admitted that he “can’t stand” the fact that Ben is no longer in his life as he seemingly confirmed that nothing has changed in the two years since their Variety interview.
As I am sure you have seen by now, in this particular episode, Danielle had somewhat of an awkward confrontation with their guest Maitland Ward, who played Rachel in Seasons 6 and 7 of Boy Meets World and has since found success as an adult movie star. An hour into the interview, Danielle abruptly asked Maitland: “Do you hate us?” as she referenced some of the less-than-flattering things Maitland had said about the hosts in the press over the years.
Partway through the tense conversation, Maitland claimed: “I think there’s a divide, too, because you guys hate Ben, and you guys hate Michael [Jacobs, the creator of Boy Meets World],” which Danielle and Will were quick to rebuke.
Will immediately stated: “I don’t hate Ben or Michael,” with Danielle echoing: “I absolutely do not hate either of them.”
“Not hate, hate is a strong word; I do not mean ‘hate,’ but, like, had disagreements with, I guess,” Maitland replied.
But Will was keen to set the record straight, saying: “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. And that’s what it is: He won’t speak to us.”
“I feel exactly the same,” Danielle agreed.
“I can show you the last three years, literally, of messages, and in the middle of a conversation with Ben, he just bailed on me,” Will went on. “Ben absolutely one day woke up and said: ‘I don’t want Will in my life,’ and never told me why.”
As previously mentioned, Ben has pivoted from acting to politics in recent years, and in March 2023, he ran for a congressional seat in California. At the time, Danielle, Will, and Rider made the uncharacteristic decision to address this on their podcast after being inundated with questions from listeners, and while Will stated that he would never publicly speak about politics, the other two hosts had a little more to say.
At the time, Danielle explained that she couldn’t vote for Ben even if she wanted to as she doesn’t live in the 30th District; she also admitted that having a personal connection with a candidate would not be a factor in her political choices.Meanwhile, Rider said that he had no idea what Ben’s “political stances on a lot of things” are nowadays, but when they worked together in the ‘90s, they didn’t always see eye to eye on political issues.
Ben lost this particular election in the March 2024 primary.
Let me know your thoughts on Ben apparently ghosting the Boy Meets World cast in the comments below!
The Cast Of “Boy Meets World” Just Broke Their Silence On The “Sore Subject” Of Former Costar Ben Savage. Here’s Everything You Need To Know.Stephanie Soteriou · June 29, 2023
“Boy Meets World” Star Rider Strong Has Revealed That He And Ben Savage “Didn’t Agree On Much Politically” Growing Up As He Broke His Silence On The Star’s Run For CongressStephanie Soteriou · April 6, 2023
Danielle Fishel And Maitland Ward Got Into A Fight On The "Pod Meets World" Podcast, And It Was VERY AwkwardLarry Fitzmaurice · Feb. 24, 2025
“She Was Right”: Sabrina Carpenter’s “Girl Meets World” Costar Danielle Fishel Just Admitted That She Advised The Singer Against Releasing One Of Her Hit SongsStephanie Soteriou · Dec. 13, 2024
