Will Friedle, Danielle Fishel Recall Learning Real-Life Weight Gain Would Be the Subject of “Boy Meets World” Episode: 'Cried for an Hour'

Angela AndaloroSat, June 6, 2026 at 2:58 PM UTC

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Topanga and Eric (Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle) in 'Boy Meets World'Credit: Disney -

Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle both experienced slight weight gain between seasons 6 and 7 of Boy Meets World

Creator Michael Jacobs called the two into a meeting and shared that there would be an episode addressing the weight gain and poking fun at it, as they claim in Doc Meets World

Fishel and Friedle look back on how they felt and what they wish they'd done in the moment in the new documentary

Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle didn't know how to react when they learned an episode of Boy Meets World would center around their weight.

The two actors reflected on the uncomfortable moment and the process leading up to the episode in their new documentary, Doc Meets World, which premiered at the Tribeca Festival on Saturday, June 6.

In the documentary, Friedle, 49, explained that he began suffering from anxiety attacks while acting. As he was working through it, he was prescribed medication.

"I started to get my anxiety attacks between seasons 6 and 7, and I started to have to medicate myself to perform. And a lot of the medications, you put on weight," Friedle, who was in his early 20s at the time, shared.

"So by the time I got back to start season 7, I was probably 25 or 30 lbs. heavier than when I left," he added.

Around the same time, he noted that Fishel was also about "six or seven lbs. heavier."

"And every article was about how big Danielle got," he said of his then-18-year-old costar.

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When it came to an episode addressing the situation head-on, Fishel recalled them being brought in for a meeting with creator Michael Jacobs.

"I remember Michael being super casual about it. 'Oh, hey. Hi. Well, obviously, you guys have both gained a bunch of weight.' "

Agreeing, Friedle added of the alleged conversation, "'We've noticed the weight gain, and we're writing an episode about it.' And so there's an entire episode about how everybody thinks Topanga's pregnant, and they have me eating full pieces of pizza in one bite."

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After the meeting with Jacobs, Fishel recalled, "We both walked out like, 'They're going to do an episode about it.' Gave each other a hug and walked off. And I think I got in the car and cried for an hour before I drove off."

Danielle Fishel as Topanga in "Boy Meets World" episode "She's Having My Baby Back Ribs"Credit: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Friedle noted that the two never discussed it again until they started podcasting. Fast forward 25 years, and he feels it would have been "much easier" on both of them to have discussed it.

"So much easier… because our souls left our body in that meeting," Fishel agreed.

The resulting episode is season 7's "She's Having My Baby Back Ribs," which has Eric and Topanga secretly (and dangerously) dieting and accidentally convince everyone that Topanga is pregnant in the process. This leads up to an awkward baby shower where she eventually shares the truth. While everyone was more sympathetic and understanding in the end, the episode itself didn't leave the actors feeling as warm.

Jacobs did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Speaking with PEOPLE about the documentary, Friedle, Fishel and costar Rider Strong were clear that the good times outweighed the bad when it came to the series, which ran from 1993 to 2000. It was for that reason that they wanted to be transparent — both on their podcast and in their documentary — about all sides.

"Our relationships with everyone on the show and the majority of our memories and experiences are glowing and wonderful. But no one goes through seven years of their lives without having some negative experiences with the people around them," Fishel shared.

Will Friedle in 1998Credit: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Strong agreed, noting, "I think all of us have overwhelmingly positive memories of Boy Meets World. So we are recognizing some things that weren't great and some things that we would do differently now that we're in a position, like in Danielle's and my position, to be able to direct child actors, to recognize how we were treated, how that affected us, and how our set was managed."

Friedle added, "... you look back, and you realize everybody's flawed. Your parents are flawed. Nobody's perfect. We're not perfect. But we try to look back as objectively as we possibly can."

"And as they both said, the balanced scale of the wonderful times we had on Boy Meets World to the not-so-wonderful times, it's not even close, but we weren't going to avoid the bad times either, because at the same time, we were kids," he added. "We were kids growing up. We may have had a different life than a lot of other kids, but at the end of the day, we were just kids."

Doc Meets World made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, June 6.

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