Ben Savage Mysteriously Disappeared From The Lives Of His Boy Meets World Costars
If you were hoping for the "Boy Meets World" cast to have a reunion anytime soon, one of the major stars of the show probably won't be there. According to a Variety interview from 2023 featuring "Boy Meets World" stars Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel, and Will Friedle, they haven't heard from Ben Savage in a while.
Savage played Cory Matthews, the titular "Boy" in question (and the protagonist's father in the "Girl Meets World" spinoff). He wasn't interested in joining his co-stars for "Pod Meets World," a podcast where Friedle, Strong, and Fishel watch the show episode-by-episode. They give listeners a glimpse into the making of it and often interview others involved in the program.
Regarding the podcast, Fishel — who played Cory's love interest Topanga on "Boy Meets World" — said, "[Savage] was very adamant that it was not for him. 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." Although Savage used to join the others at fan conventions, Fishel said, "He just kind of disappeared from our lives." Savage was previously close with his co-stars, with Fishel saying he reached out often in 2019, when her eldest son was in the NICU after being born early. However, sometime later, she revealed, "He ghosted us."
Will Friedle spent a while trying to get in contact with Savage
At the time of their Variety interview, it had been three years since Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, or Rider Strong had talked to Ben Savage. Friedle, who played Savage's older brother on "Boy Meets World," explained how there was no conflict between them — Savage just chose to cut them out.
Friedle continued, "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." The right way to handle being ghosted is to accept it instead of trying to figure out why they've stopped responding. Eventually, Friedle stopped reaching out, citing his wife as the reason: "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.'" Fishel was optimistic in the interview, feeling that she and Savage may reconnect one day.
In a New York Post interview from February 2024, Friedle said the "Pod Meets World" crew hadn't reconnected with Savage following their comments from 2023. "No, no," Friedle said. "Ben is, you know, running for Congress, and I would hope he feels the same way that I feel about him, which is that I hope he's just happy and healthy and enjoying his life."
Ben Savage's co-stars briefly discussed his political ambitions
In 2022, Ben Savage ran for the West Hollywood City Council but lost. He then ran as a Democrat for California's District 30 seat in the House of Representatives, announcing his decision to do so on Instagram in March 2023. According to NPR, his now-defunct campaign website listed affordable housing as one of his causes, which he also mentioned in a March 2023 ABC News interview. In that interview, Savage discussed being in the workforce and a union for a long time due to his life as a child actor. He wanted to take what he's learned and put it toward politics. He also said, "I want some more positivity in D.C."
Savage's political ambitions were discussed on an April 2023 episode of "Pod Meets World." His former co-stars were hesitant to talk too much about their political views, since that wasn't the show's focus. However, Rider Strong said he and Savage previously disagreed on a lot, although Savage's views might have changed since their younger years. "But I'm not going to endorse Ben simply because I had the same job as him when I was a teenager," Strong added. Danielle Fishel felt the same, although she wouldn't be able to vote for Savage at all because of the district he was running in.
Following the California primary election in March 2024, Savage was out of the race, only receiving 4% of votes in his district (via NBC News).