Ben Savage Shares Family Photo Amid Cast Estrangement

Ben Savage shared a cryptic social media message on Monday, June 15, as his former Boy Meets World castmates continue to publicly address their estrangement from the actor who portrayed Cory Matthews on the beloved 1990s sitcom.

The 45-year-old actor posted two Instagram photos showing him in a suit, proudly holding his seven-month-old daughter against a leafy backdrop. The simple caption read: "Good company." Savage and his wife, Tessa Angermeier, have not publicly disclosed their daughter's name. The child is the couple's first.

The post arrived one week after Will Friedle, who portrayed older brother Eric Matthews on the ABC series, told Us Weekly that he wanted to discuss their estrangement with Savage "to his face." Danielle Fishel, who played Savage's on-screen love interest Topanga Lawrence, agreed that an in-person conversation would be "good."

The divide between Savage and his former colleagues has become increasingly public in recent weeks. A documentary titled Doc Meets World, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on Friday, June 6, examined the current rift between Savage and Boy Meets World alumni including Rider Strong, who played Savage's on-screen best friend Shawn Hunter.

In the documentary, Strong, 46, addressed Savage's decision to distance himself from the cast. "Ben refused to do the ['Pod Meets World' recap] podcast, but we still communicated with him, [were] still on friendly terms, we thought," Strong claimed in the film. "He unfollowed us on Instagram and blocked our phone numbers. I feel sorry that he's missing out on the experience that Danielle and Will and I are having."

Strong, Fishel, 45, and Friedle, 49, launched the Pod Meets World podcast in June 2022, a project that revisits episodes of the original series. The documentary reveals that Friedle has attempted to maintain contact with Savage despite receiving no responses. Friedle is shown in the film displaying years of unanswered text messages he sent to his former costar. He indicated that he continues to reach out "probably at least once a month" in hopes of eventually receiving a reply.

"I really do miss him. He's arguably one of the funniest people I've ever met in my life," Friedle stated in the documentary while speaking with Strong.

Fishel previously addressed Savage's absence from the podcast in July 2022. "We talked about all the different ways we could do it. And at the end of our conversations, Ben said, 'I just don't think it's for me.' And we get it. So we're respecting his decision," she said at the time, speaking to Us Weekly. "And if he eventually wants to come on, we'll leave that door open."

In a recent interview with People, Fishel reflected on Savage's new role as a father. "I love imagining him in this new chapter of his life as a dad," she told the publication. "We [once] talked a lot about how he looked forward to being a dad someday."

Boy Meets World aired on ABC for seven seasons, concluding in 2000. The cast reunited for a three-season spinoff series that ran from 2014 to 2016. Since that time, Savage has increasingly distanced himself from both the show's cast and the broader entertainment industry.

Savage has never publicly commented on any rift with his former castmates. However, Bonnie Bartlett, the wife of William Daniels, who portrayed teacher George Feeny on the series, told Page Six in May that the cast experienced difficulties during production. "They had some problems working together as … they grew up," she told the outlet. "They've done well — all of them. That's very unusual in a cast with children. They've done a good job of that. They're good people. They're all good people."

The contrast between Savage's Monday social media post celebrating fatherhood and his former castmates' public appeals for reconciliation underscores the complexity of relationships formed during childhood stardom. While Friedle, Fishel, and Strong have embraced their shared history through their podcast and public appearances, Savage appears to have chosen a different path, focusing on his family and private life away from the spotlight that defined his youth.