The cast of Boy Meets World have claimed Ben Savage ‘ghosted’ them, despite previously being ‘so close’.
Savage starred as Cory Matthews on the long-running coming-of-age ABC sitcom, which first aired in 1993 before bowing out in 2000.
It followed the witty adolescent as he juggled school, friends and romance from sixth grade right through until his college days.
Joining Cory were his love interest Topanga (Danielle Fishel), best friend Shawn (Rider Strong) and older brother Eric (Will Friedle).
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At the time, the foursome became great friends, but it seems they’ve since grown apart, according to Savage’s former co-stars – who said they’ve not spoken in three years.
Speaking to Variety, Strong said the show was an ‘overwhelmingly positive experience’ in all of their lives.
These days, he has stepped away from the limelight, and works as a college professor while also writing and directing, but the trio have teamed up for a ‘The Kids Wanna Jump’ tour, having just announced seven more dates.
Being back in front of an audience doesn’t bother him, thanks to having Friedle and Fishel by his side.
“We can’t really fail — they want us to be ourselves,” Strong said.
However, there’s one person missing from the tour, and that’s lead star Savage.
The group had remained close, and often headed out to cast reunions at fan conventions.
But when they suggested the idea of doing a podcast, he apparently wasn’t up for it.
“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.”
Savage suddenly stopped doing the conventions, too, with Fishel adding: “He just kind of disappeared from our lives.”
The actor was there for her when her first son was born early in June 2019.
“We were just so, so close, especially during that time. He was checking in with me regularly,” Fishel said.
But something changed after that, with the star saying of her former colleague: “He ghosted us.”
While Friedle has unsuccessfully tried to get in touch with Savage, the trio haven’t spoken to him in three years.
“He disappeared — I wish I knew why, to this day,” Friedle said.
“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.’
“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.”
Friedle said it was a ‘sore subject’ for him, as they’d grown close while playing brothers.
“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,” he went on.
“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.'”
And yet, Fishel remains hopeful that things may improve one day.
“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,” she said.
“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.”
UNILAD has reached out to a representative for Savage for comment.
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity
Jess Hardiman