The ’90s sitcom Boy Meets World was a huge part of a lot of people’s childhoods. Plenty of kids grew up with the show’s characters, garnering life lessons in parallel to the show’s star, Cory Matthews, played by Ben Savage. Throughout the show’s seven seasons, Cory’s primary love interest was Topanga Lawrence, played by Danielle Fishel. Given the pair’s seven-year-long on-screen romance, fans have wondered if they ever took their chemistry off screen. Here’s what we know about Savage’s love life.
His Relationship With Fishel Has Remained Platonic
While Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel may not have had a whirlwind off-screen romance by any means, they still played important roles in each other’s lives. Savage was only 13 when the first season of Boy Meets World premiered, and Fishel was only 12. So, when the on-screen couple shared a kiss in that very season, it marked all kinds of firsts for the young actors. It was each of their first kisses, on or off-screen.
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Fishel and Savage have shared their memories of the moment, and they both agree that they were incredibly nervous. “That was my first ever TV kiss, and I was very nervous because we did that scene in front of a live audience,” he admitted to Entertainment Weekly. “I was nervous! Pretty girl, tons of people watching… I didn’t know what to do. But it was fine, it was fine.”
Fishel even said she was scared she would pee her pants because she was so nervous. “Not only had I never kissed anybody before, but I had certainly never kissed anybody in front of a live studio audience that’s also housing my grandparents and parents,” she told Brian Baumgartner on his podcast, Off the Beat. “Like, everyone is there.”
They Went On A Single ‘Date’
However, the actors eventually became pros at the art of on-screen smooching. Their characters dated for the duration of the show and even went on to get married. As for their off-screen chemistry, they tried to go on a single date, but they agreed that there weren’t any sparks.
“There was literally I think one moment where Ben and I looked at each other after we had been working together for like two years and were like, ‘Are there feelings there?'” Fishel revealed at 90s Con. “And then we went out to dinner, and we were like, ‘No!'” She likely struggled to find the romance in their outing because Savage says he didn’t even know it was a date.
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Savage once hinted at possibly having a crush on Fishel in their youth (“How could you not? She’s the best,” he remarked to E! News), but both actors insist they saved all of their chemistry for Cory and Topanga. “We’ve always been best friends and what is there not to love about Ben? He’s obviously very handsome, he’s very smart, he’s very, very funny. Nobody makes me laugh more than Ben does. But Ben and I have always been just best friends and like family members,” said Fishel.
It all worked out for the best, though. Fishel and Savage stayed great friends, and they even co-starred in the 2014 Disney Channel spinoff, Girl Meets World. The show saw them reprise their beloved characters, playing a married couple raising a teenage daughter.
Savage Is Notoriously Private About His Relationships
In her later teenage years, Fishel went on to date NSYNC member Lance Bass. She’s since recalled being heartbroken when Bass ended things, however, the singer came out as gay years later. Fishel and Bass have since reconnected as close friends. Fishel was married to Tim Belusko for three years before divorcing in 2016. She went on to marry producer Jensen Karp in 2018.
So, if Savage didn’t romance Fishel, then who has he dated? Well, that question is kind of a dead end. Surely, the actor has had relationships in the past. However, Savage has managed to keep that part of his life shielded from the spotlight. There are no rumored relationships with any substance, and the actor has never been married or had any children.
Honestly, it’s refreshing to see such a recognizable actor maintain his privacy. In the age of smartphones and social media, everyone is part of the paparazzi. In this day in age, celebrities have to fight to keep their love lives out of the public eye. So, we have no idea how he has accomplished it, but his lack of public romance is quite an amazing feat for a star like Savage.