Danielle Fishel Says She Was 'Terrified To Eat' During 'Boy Meets World'

With shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Full House, and Saved by the Bell — it's easy only to remember the good times.

Boy Meets World told the story of Cory Matthews, his best friend Shawn Hunter, and his destined-to-be girlfriend and later eventual wife, Topanga Lawrence.

Topanga was a free spirit, to put it mildly, and the daughter of two ex-hippies. In the beginning, Cory attempted to keep her at arm's length but it didn't take long for romance to begin to blossom.

Topanga went from being the girl who was picked last in gym class to the young woman who wears the crown on prom night.

It didn't take long for Danielle's face to start appearing on the covers of teen magazines like J-14 and Tiger Beat. Almost overnight, she became the stuff of dreams for teenage boys all across America.

It's a title she takes in stride now that she's an adult. But when you're a 12-19-year-old kid, being a teenage dream comes with unique pressures.

"We’ve had enough time away from the show that we can actually honestly look back at it and have adult eyes and 2022 eyes," Danielle told Insider, "and see how Boy Meets World affected what ended up being the rest of our lives."

"I was terrified to eat," Danielle admitted to People magazine back in 2010. She was desperate to be thin and at one point got her weight down to 89 lbs.

Danielle quickly realized that her weight and personal health weren't a game and that she needed to make immediate drastic changes to avoid a severe eating disorder.

As far as when Danielle's fainting incident took place, that remains unclear. But there's no debating the fact that Boy Meets World was promoting unhealthy body choices as late as their final season.

Cory happens to overhear one of their conversations and presumes that Topanga is pregnant. This miscommunication quickly snowballs into a damaging rumor that's spread among their friend group.

Fishel, Friedle, and Strong all agreed and confirmed that they would be sure to talk about this specific episode on their newly-minted rewatch podcast, Pod Meets World.

Danielle has said that they will be welcoming former castmates onto the podcast, like Trina McGee, who has since spoken out about the racism she was subjected to while filming.

"The tears that have been shed, the hugs that we've had, the closeness it has brought us, has[sic] been some of my favorite moments of the last several years," Danielle told Insider.

You can catch up on all 11 episodes (so far) on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also read more about Danielle's individual experiences on Boy Meets World in her tell-all memoir, "Normally, This Would be Cause for Concern: Tales of Calamity and Unrelenting Awkwardness."