Ben Savage reacts to Danielle Fishel and Rider Strong kissing on set of the 'Boy Meets World' episode 'Hog and Kisses,' which aired on Oct. 30, 1998. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)Cory and Topanga may have been endgame on Boy Meets World, but behind the scenes, Danielle Fishel was hoping for Topanga and Shawn.
In the new memoir Book Meets World: The Definitive Inside Story of the Hit Sitcom Boy Meets World, Fishel, Rider Strong and Will Friedle open up about behind-the-scenes stories from the making of their popular sitcom. In a passage from the memoir obtained by Entertainment Weekly, Fishel and Strong detail a romantic moment they shared while filming season 3 of Boy Meets World.
It all took place behind the scenes of the season 3 episode “The Happiest Show on Earth,” which is colloquially known as the series' Disney World episode. It finds Cory (Ben Savage) and Shawn (Strong) traveling to Florida so that Cory can win Topanga (Fishel) back after their breakup.
In real life, Fishel wrote she had a "full-blown crush" on Strong, while he had no idea about her feelings for him.
"I remember we were sitting in a van, waiting out the Florida rain. I said, ‘Danielle, let’s just go,’" Strong writes in the book. The then-teens then jumped out of the car, took each other's hands and spun around in the rain. Strong wrote it was a "very romantic moment."
Despite their connection, Fishel didn't tell Strong how she felt for him at the time. The actress revealed her crush 30 years later on a 2022 episode of their podcast Pod Meets World.
After Fishel made the revelation, Strong said, "That’s not true! You’ve never told me that."
Fishel said it was very true, adding that her crush "started maybe later in season 1 and definitely through season 2."
Fishel continued, describing that she felt she would have been too much of a "stereotypical LA girl" for Strong, but that she crushed on him anyway. It started when he complimented her during an acting class.
"Oh my god, I love you," Fishel remembered thinking, adding that the pair developed "a very nice, deep friendship" over the years, filled with "meaningful conversations."
Boy Meets World aired on ABC from 1993 to 2000. Its spinoff, Girl Meets World, ran from 2014 to 2017 on Disney Channel.
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