Boy Meets World star Danielle Fishel recently shared insights about moving on from a challenging personal chapter at age 19, which involved walking away from a toxic relationship.
Reflecting on those days during the “Pod Meets World” podcast aired on Thursday, August 13, the now 45-year-old Fishel admitted, “That year was incredibly tough for me on a personal level. I was caught in a very damaging relationship, which I finally ended around late 2000 or early 2001.”
Fishel recounted how, in the aftermath of Boy Meets World concluding its successful seven-season run in 2000, she wasn’t seeking new acting roles. Instead, she was focused on recovering emotionally from the relationship that had significantly affected her well-being.
“Those were such turbulent times,” she noted. “That’s when I decided to leave Beverly Hills for Sherman Oaks, in such a whirlwind that my mom had to select an apartment for me — I hadn’t even seen it before moving in. I just packed up and settled into the new place she chose.”
Besides her accomplishments in acting, podcasting, and dancing, Danielle Fishel has ingeniously tackled household chores. Speaking exclusively to Us Weekly while promoting a collaboration with Lysol, the 44-year-old revealed her clever strategy for managing chores, noting, “The chore I dread most is putting away laundry.”
She added, “That year was not a fun year, not a year I like revisiting at all.”
Her cohosts Rider Strong and Will Friedle asked whether Fishel faced any pressure from her agent to get back to work.
“Not that I remember,” she clarified. “I know, for sure, I had said, ‘I don’t want anything. I don’t want to audition for anything. I’m just done for a little bit.’ And I don’t remember there being a lot of pushback.”
Fishel pointed out this upheaval in her personal and professional life occurred at the same time as she switched from having “a kid’s agent” to going out for older parts.
“For me to say, like, ‘I’m in a holding pattern. I’m not sure what I’m going to do,’ we just kind of put that on hold,” she said. “And then I did eventually sign with the Young Talent department at Innovative, which was run by Abby Bluestone, who is still there and she’s amazing.”
The Boy Meets World cast has spoken out about their years-long rift with former costar Ben Savage. The actor played Cory Matthews on the beloved ABC sitcom, which ran from 1993 to 2000. Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong and Will Friedle have discussed being estranged from Savage for years, stemming from the creation of their “Pod […]
Fishel has frequently been quite vulnerable about her past — and her work on Boy Meets World. In May, she spoke to Us about the way TV executives flippantly discussed her body on set when she was a teenager.
“I was aware, even if nobody said it to me directly… that as far as the people in power were concerned, my body was a problem… I remember around the time of [1998’s] prom episode being aware that they didn’t want me wearing something sleeveless,” she remembered.
In more recent years, Fishel tied the knot with her second husband, comedian and rapper Jensen Karp, in 2018. They are parents to two sons — Adler, 7, and Keaton, 4.
“Pod Meets World” releases new episodes every Monday and Thursday.