Rider Strong Opens Up About Estrangement From Ben Savage

Rider Strong has candidly addressed his complicated relationship with Boy Meets World costar Ben Savage, revealing that despite playing inseparable best friends on television for seven years, the two actors were never particularly close off-screen.

In the new documentary Doc Meets World, Strong, 46, disclosed that Savage has severed all contact with his former castmates, blocking their phone numbers and unfollowing them on social media. The revelation sheds light on a growing rift that has puzzled fans of the beloved 1990s sitcom.

"Ben refused to do the [rewatch] podcast ['Pod Meets World'], but we still communicated with him, still on friendly terms, we thought. But he unfollowed us on Instagram and blocked our phone numbers," Strong explained in the documentary, speaking to Us Weekly. "I feel sorry that he's missing out on the experience that Danielle [Fishel] and Will [Friedle] and I are having."

Strong and Savage portrayed best friends Shawn Hunter and Corey Matthews throughout Boy Meets World's run from 1993 to 2000, later reuniting for the Disney Channel spinoff Girl Meets World from 2014 to 2017. Their on-screen chemistry made them one of television's most memorable friendship duos, leading many viewers to assume the actors shared a similar bond in real life.

However, Strong clarified that while they developed a strong professional relationship, their connection did not extend beyond the set. He acknowledged that the two formed a "mind meld as performers and trusted one another" during filming, but emphasized they were never close friends personally.

The estrangement appears to have begun around 2020, following Savage's decision to decline an invitation to join the Pod Meets World podcast. Strong, Fishel, and Friedle—who played Topanga Lawrence and Eric Matthews, respectively—launched the rewatch podcast to reconnect with fans and reflect on their experiences making the show.

According to Strong, Savage, 45, viewed the podcast as neither a "worthwhile creative endeavor or way to connect with fans." Strong recalled attempting to persuade his former costar to reconsider.

"I flat-out told him, 'Wow, I'm really going to miss you doing this; I think you're making a mistake. I really wish you would consider it,'" Strong recounted in the documentary, speaking to Us Weekly. "And he said, 'I promise you it's just not for me.'"

Friedle shared particularly poignant details about his attempts to maintain contact with Savage. In Doc Meets World, he displayed a text chain of unanswered messages dating back several years, suggesting that Savage eventually blocked his number after Friedle threatened to call him "every day" until they reconnected.

Despite the apparent rejection, Friedle continues reaching out with persistent hope. He revealed that he still texts Savage "at least once a month" with the "slight hope he'll reach out one day."

"I really do miss him. He's arguably one of the funniest people I've ever met in my life," Friedle told Strong in the documentary, speaking to Us Weekly.

Savage has never publicly addressed why he ceased communication with his former castmates. However, the Pod Meets World hosts indicated that Savage maintains a close relationship with Boy Meets World cocreator Michael Jacobs, with whom he has remained connected throughout the years.

"[Michael and Ben have] always been very close," Fishel, 45, told Us Weekly exclusively.

Strong elaborated on this relationship, telling Us Weekly: "They've always been … creative partners. I mean, I think Michael saw himself in Ben, you know, and then was writing a lot of his own childhood through Ben, and they just had a great relationship."

The documentary also includes Strong accusing Jacobs, 71, of perpetuating an "abuse cycle" through his treatment of child actors on both the Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World sets, adding another layer of complexity to the behind-the-scenes dynamics.

Despite the current estrangement, Friedle expressed hope for eventual reconciliation. He told Us Weekly that he wanted to share his feelings about the situation "to [Savage's] face" someday, suggesting the door remains open for future dialogue.

Neither Jacobs nor Savage has appeared on Pod Meets World, and both declined to participate in interviews for Doc Meets World. Their silence leaves many questions unanswered about the circumstances surrounding the fractured relationships and what might have transpired behind the scenes of one of television's most cherished family sitcoms.