How Danielle Fishel Felt About ‘Boy Meets World’ Weight Gain Episode

Danielle Fishel reveals she had no choice but to address her weight gain when it was written into a storyline during the final season of Boy Meets World. The actress discussed this experience while rewatching the episode on her Pod Meets World podcast, alongside Full House star, Candace Cameron Bure.

The episode in question is titled “She’s Having My Baby Back Ribs,” and it revolves around the characters Topanga, played by Fishel, and Eric, played by Will Friedle, going on a diet after noticing they’ve gained weight. Topanga’s husband Cory, portrayed by Ben Savage, also questions if she’s pregnant.

Fishel disclosed that she was informed about the storyline without any input, recalling, “They called me into the office to tell me they were going to. It wasn’t really like they asked. They just kind of said, ‘We just want you to know…’ — it was Will and I. Will had gained some weight. I had gained some weight.’

According to Fishel, she and Friedle were told, ‘Obviously, you guys have gained a little bit of weight. So we’re going to write an episode about it, and we just wanted you to know and here’s what it’s going to be. It’s going to be really funny.’

Friedle immediately agreed, although Fishel remembered it being painful and hurtful for him. She also had her reservations but didn’t speak up because she felt she didn’t have another choice.

“For me, it was more like, ‘Oh, wow. No one had said anything to me about it.’ I had been aware that I had gained weight, but I was still, you know, I was a size 4,” Fishel shared. “So I remember thinking, ‘Wow, these people think I’ve gained enough weight, we have to write an entire episode about my weight gain.’ And even if they did, I probably wouldn’t have felt comfortable being like, ‘Yeah, I don’t want to do that.'”

Cameron Bure was visibly shocked as she listened to Fishel’s account, noting that her “jaw was hanging to the floor.”