“Boy Meets World” star Ben Savage is “wandering down this road that we call life” without his childhood friends, his former-co-stars say.
Savage, who starred as Cory Matthews on the ABC sitcom alongside Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong and Will Friedle from 1993-2000, hasn’t spoken to his castmates in three years, the actors claim in a Variety interview published Wednesday.
“He disappeared — I wish I knew why, to this day,” Friedle told the outlet. “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.’ “
Friedle, who portrayed Savage’s TV brother Eric Matthews, said he spent about a month trying to get in contact with Savage, to no avail.
“I finally sent a text saying, ‘I’ve known you for 30 years, what’s going on?’ ” Friedle said. “I said, ‘I’m gonna call you every day until you tell me not to call you anymore.’ “
Savage, who is running for a congressional seat in California’s 30th District in the House of Representatives, returned to his “Boy Meets World” roots for the reboot “Girl Meets World,” which ran from 2014-2017. Fishel, who played Cory’s love interest and eventual wife Topanga, also returned to the series in a co-starring role. Friedle and Strong made numerous guest appearances on the show.
Savage’s co-stars said they remained close after “Girl Meets World” finished production, including cast appearances at fan conventions. However, Fishel said that when the idea for a rewatch podcast “Pod Meets World,” which launched in June 2022, was proposed, Savage wasn’t interested.
“He was very adamant that it was not for him,” Fishel said. “He was also very clear, ‘I don’t want it to stop you. If you guys want to do it, go ahead.’ The time between those conversations and the time we actually started the podcast was a significant amount of time.”
Fishel said that while she and Savage grew closer following the birth of her first child in 2019, Savage abruptly stopped participating in fan conventions and withdrew communication.
“He just kind of disappeared from our lives,” Fishel said. “He ghosted us.”
Fishel said she remains optimistic that this rough patch in their friendship is not “the end of our story.”
“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,” Fishel said. “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.”
‘Pod Meets World’:Adam Scott says incident with ‘Boy Meets World’ co-star Rider Strong ‘has been tugging at me for 29 years’
‘Together, we can do better’:Ben Savage officially launches campaign for Congress
Contributing: Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY
