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It’s hard to believe that the 90’s ended a whopping almost 30 years ago. It almost seems like yesterday that we were excited to watch the nest episode of Boy Meets World. Girls were crushing on the guys and there wasn’t a boy out there that didn’t have a mad crush on Topanga, they are probably still crushing on her. She was the perfect girl you could meet in high school. She was gorgeous, strong, funny and super smart. She seemed to be able to stand by her man no matter what but still be able to tell him when he was being an idiot.
RELATED: Secrets They Hid From You On Boy Meets World
Like many young stars when they are thrown into Hollywood too young, Topanga and the rest of the cast had to grow up in the industry. Most family sitcoms have secrets because honestly, no show is just ever that good. There are usually things going on behind the scenes that we know nothing about. Danielle Fishel, the girl who played Topanga definitely has some secrets in her past. You might be surprised as to what you find out about your crushes from back in the day. We have the secrets from the show and we know you are dying to know what they are. Find out what’s been going on in the lives of your favorite character from the 90’s. Check out these 15 secrets about Boy Meets World that Disney doesn’t want us to know.
Danielle Fishel And Her DUIs
Topanga was such a good girl on the show that you just couldn’t imagine her ever doing anything wrong. It was usually her boyfriend Corey and his best friend Shawn that seemed to screw up all the time. Topanga’s mistakes seemed to happen in her real life. As we said before, it can be hard growing up in the limelight. Her career didn’t exactly take off after the show ended and that can be hard on a child star. Seven years after the show ended, Fishel found herself in hot water with a DUI. In 2007, Fishel was arrested for driving drunk, but that wasn’t why the cops pulled her over in the first place.
There was a warrant out for her arrest because she missed a court date for a previous DUI arrest.
But when the cops pulled her over, she was drunk, so they arrested her again.
Fishel Didn't Know Boys Loved Her
Young boys all over the world had her posters plastered all over their bedroom walls. You thought about her day and night, wondering what it would be like to date her. But Danielle Fishel wasn’t aware at all the guys liked her at all. She was one of those rare humble girls and the thought just never crossed her mind. “When you’re 12 to 19, which was how old I was when I was on the show, you are kind of in a little bit of a bubble,” she says.
“You know that the show is popular and that people are enjoying watching it, but I don’t think you ever really spend a lot of time thinking, ‘I have a lot of boys who have crushes on me.’
RELATED: Photos Of Topanga All Grown Up!
Any attention that I got from people was always really nice and I appreciated it, but it wasn’t until I was more of an adult that I realized so many young boys had their first crush on Topanga!”
Many People Were Fired From the Show
The director was very particular on the kind of characters he was having on the show and who was going to portray them. There were many actors on the show that just didn’t last. The director kept firing them because they just weren’t the right fit.
Supposedly, Corey was supposed to have not one, but two best friends. None of the actors they hired ever seemed to work out and it was as if the director wasn't happy with anyone.
There were so many “best friends” that were fired that the director just decided that Corey would have just the one. The best friend had always sat in a specific chair in the cafeteria and it ended up being called the “death chair.” We’re glad the main ones made the cut, we couldn’t imagine the show without Shawn and Topanga.
Someone Else Was Supposed To Play Topanga
It’s hard even to picture another girl playing Topanga. Danielle Fishel seemed perfect for the job. There was another actress, though, and her name was Marla Sokoloff — the girl who played Stephanie Tanner’s best friend Gia in Full House — what a small world. Apparently, the actress couldn’t seem to understand role right and she was let go.
"I remember David Trainer, our exceptionally gifted director for the first two seasons, giving her notes on how to improve her performance. She seemed to have trouble there," said Fishel. "He’d give her a note telling her to change something, and she’d do it the exact same way again.
I felt like a little kid in a classroom; I wanted to raise my hand and say, 'Can I try?' Even at twelve, I knew that was unprofessional, so I kept my mouth shut. On set the next day, she wasn’t there. They had let her go, and the executive producer, Michael Jacobs, needed to find a new girl to play Topanga."
Rider Strong Stole The Leather Jacket
If there's one thing we remember about Shawn Hunter, it's his iconic leather jacket. He looked pretty cool in the jacket after all and it suited him perfectly. So, when the show ended, he stole the leather jacket from Disney. When it comes to things like that, you would think the show would just let him keep it. At the time, Strong was attending a University in New York while he was still filming Boy Meets World.
Unfortunately for him, he left the jacket in his car one day and someone stole it from him. The jacket was never supposed to leave the set, so to avoid getting in trouble, Strong bought a look-alike jacket and no one knew the difference.
Well, we suppose the Disney execs know now.
Fishel Saw Bob Saget’s Bad Side
We can’t imagine Danielle Fishel getting into a fight with anyone, but apparently, she saw a side of Bob Saget that not everyone knew about. She was on a private jet on her way to Disney World with her dad when she saw him in action. "We were trying to take a nap, and all of a sudden, Bob Saget walks down the aisle, rips open our curtain, and shouts, 'Do you guys have any coke?!' Then he looks at my dad in the eye, laughs, and closes the curtain.” Bob Saget wasn’t too thrilled with her comments about him, so he lashed out at her.
"What show was she on? 'Big Chest, Small Wonder'? That's the real size of her, by the way. She's kind of like Bilbo Baggins, very tiny. How old is that girl now anyway?
Isn't she like 60? I don't know how old she was when she did the show, but I'll always tell the judge she was 18." We don’t think he made himself look any better.
There Are Episodes That Never Aired
Boys Meets World, like so many '90s TV shows were wholesome and were meant to teach kids lessons in life without really going into deep issues. Disney liked it that way and had no intention of focusing on any issues that were “too real.” Although there were episodes that were shot that included teen drinking and premarital s*x, they were banned from being aired. The men of the world will be sad to hear that there was even an episode of Topanga’s bare bottom when she jokingly moons Shawn.
That too was of course given the axe. Disney wasn’t interested in focusing on real teen issues even though it would have helped a lot of teens who were struggling with those issues. You can actually find these lost episodes on YouTube if you look hard enough.
They are titled, The Truth About Honesty, Prom-ises, Prom-ises and Can’t Be With the One You Love.
Fishel Was Once Saved By Batman
No, it’s not a scene from a movie, but it likely could have been. During one Halloween party in Hollywood, Fishel tripped on an uneven walkway and may have even been a little drunk. It was a Halloween party after all. She fell hard and ended up with a bloody mouth. A man ended up coming to her rescue, scooping her up, and taking her to safety. She wrote about it in her memoir: “This handsome giant is Ben freaking Affleck, and you might bleed on him.” Wow, we didn’t know he had it in him.
It seems as if he had a little superhero in him long before he played the latest Batman.
It must have been dreamy to be swept off your feet by a young Affleck. Though, that might have even been before he became really famous. Still, it’s a pretty cool story.
Fishel’s Mom Knew About Lance All Along
Moms know everything, don't they? Usually, they recognize that he’s a douchebag or that he might cheat on you, but when it came to Danielle Fishel’s boyfriend, Lance Bass from the band NSYNC, she had her suspicions about him. The two started dating in 1996 and he was even her prom date. They only lasted six months, though, before Bass broke up with her over the phone. Her mother told her that it was probably for the best because she had her suspicions.
“Danielle, I think Lance was a wonderful boyfriend, and he was always good to you, but I think he might be gay.” She didn’t believe her mother at first, but after Bass came out, she started realizing that there had been signs, especially since their first date was a Celine Dion concert.
“Now, I love me some Celine Dion, but perhaps that should have been my first sign that he was gay?”
Rider Strong Was Going To Quit The Show
That would not have been a good thing for Boy Meets World and Disney didn’t want that to happen. Like some actors who get a taste of fame, Strong wasn’t digging it that much. He was starting to think about going to college instead of being an actor. He was thinking of quitting the show, but the execs wanted to keep him, so they struck a deal with the actor.
They changed the whole production schedule so that the show would work around Strong’s college schedule so he could do both.
At the time, he decided to go to Occidental College in Los Angeles and do the show at the same time. He eventually went to Columbia University to finish his degree in English. In the end, it all worked out for him.
Fishel Got A Tattoo While On The Show
That would have been a big no-no had execs known about it. TV shows rarely want an actress to cut her hair, never mind get a tattoo. They would never have approved an episode of Topanga getting a tattoo, it wasn’t part of their wholesome image. So, Danielle Fishel got a small tattoo on the back of her neck without telling the execs.
It wasn’t until they styled her hair in pigtails for the show that they realized what she had done it.
A writer for the show, noticed it at first and asked Michael Jacobs, “What’s on [Danielle’s] neck?” Jacobs knew and responded, “Chinese letters.” The writer asked, “Did you ever know they were there before?” to which Michael responded, “Hair has never given her pigtails before.” You may not have even noticed it on the show since it's pretty small, we’re surprised they didn’t try to cover it up.
Danielle Fishel Couldn’t Make It As An Actress
It can be hard to move from being a child actor to an adult especially when you have been on a show long enough to be typecast. That was what happened with Danielle Fishel when Boy Meets World ended in 2006. Once the show was over, she had a hard time finding work in Hollywood.
Despite the fact that she used to be famous because of the show, she found herself working at Bloomingdales as a customer service representative.
At the time, she had no interest in college and she had no other skills aside from acting. It wasn’t long before she decided she better try out college and eventually graduated from California State University. She was 31 by the time she graduated. She got another shot at acting with Girl Meets World.
RELATED: What The Ladies Of Boy Meets World Look Like Today
The Girl Who Played Lauren Is Terrible In Real Life
We all hated that character that came on the show and became the end of Topanga and Corey — for a little while anyways. We never thought it was possible, but it happened. Linda Cardellini was the girl that played the “bad girl” character that eventually broke up Corey and Topanga in the fifth season of the show.
It turns out she was a villain in real life as well. Cardellini is apparently the inspiration behind Kristen Bell’s evil character in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Rumor has it that Cardellini was dating Jason Segel in real life and ended up dumping him because he was too big for her.
The two were co-stars in 1999 on the TV show Freaks and Geeks. She definitely doesn’t sound like a very nice person. Segel got his revenge though and now her name goes down in infamy.
Rider Strong Despised His Haircut
Sometimes, the actors don’t get a say in what their character's hair looks like. While all the girls loved Shawn's long hair, Rider Strong couldn't stand it.
"I hated my hair. I came to the audition with that hairstyle, got the part, and the director Michael Jacobs never let me cut it from there on out. A bunch of girls at a sleepover told me to wear my hair like that — parted down the centre — and I was 12, so I listened.
It was my version of Christian Slater. But my hair is wavy and they would straighten it on the show and it would take forever. I wanted to cut my hair so bad, but the only time I got to was when we found out the show was going to be canceled." That’s a long time to have to keep a haircut that you hate.
Danielle Fishel Was A Cougar
Danielle Fishel met her husband, Tim, when they were both college students. She was in her thirties at the time and he was much younger than him. She didn’t let the cougar status stop her though; she went after the man she wanted. There was an instant connection when they met and the next thing we knew, they were married.
“What I noticed first about my fiancé was a Mortal Kombat tattoo on his calf. I’m not a huge tattoo person, but I loved it.
I actually have two of my own, which I would get laser-removed, but I’m afraid that they’ll look weird. I have one on the back of my neck, and I have a tramp stamp.” Unfortunately, they got a divorce in 2016. However, just like Topanga, Fishel is loveable and found herself a new beau named Jensen Karp.
NEXT: Actors You Didn't Know Guest Starred On Boy Meets World
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