The “Boy Meets World” star fessed up to his crimes on the latest episode of their recap podcast

Rider Strong used Danielle Fishel to make ex-girlfriend Rachael Leigh Cook jealous: ‘Did you think I’d forget?’

The "Boy Meets World" star fessed up to his crimes on the latest episode of their recap podcast

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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March 19, 2026 5:11 p.m. ET

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Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel, and Rachael Leigh Cook. Credit:

Anna Webber/Variety via Getty; Jamie McCarthy/Getty; Amanda Edwards/Getty

*Boy Meets World* star Rider Strong is answering for a mistake he made in the ’90s. And we're not talking about his fashion choices.

On the latest episode of* **Pod Meets World*, his recap podcast with former costars Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle, Strong got an unexpected blast from his past. Fishel explained that she recently recorded a chat with Rachael Leigh Cook, whom Strong dated as a teenager in the late ’90s.

"She shared a story with me that I wanted to bring here to my podmates," Fishel teased, prompting Friedle to cheer, "I'm so excited."

Meanwhile, Strong was fearful at the prospect of a story from his ex. "Oh no," he said. "I don't want this."

Fishel explained, "To give you a little bit of backstory, I told her I've been reading snippets of my teenage diary on *Pod Meets World*. And one of the things that struck me as being so funny is that I have all these diary entries from the time that Rachael and Rider were dating, and it's so apparent that I just have the biggest crush on Rider, but I like Rachael too much to hate her."

Strong with Cook in 1996.

Lisa Rose/Globe Photos/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Fishel joked that she was clearly "seething inside" when she penned some of those diary entries, which say things like, "Hung out with Rider and Rachael today. She's so cool. But I don't think she understands him."

The* Girl Meets World* actress explained that this prompted her to ask Cook if she ever picked up on the crush — to which Cook said no, but had a story of her own to share. Fishel then played the clip from her *Teen Beat* podcast, in which Cook speaks out.

"I remember one time [Rider] said to me, 'If you weren't with me, who would you want to be with?' And I realize in retrospect that he was probably thinking I'd be like, 'Oh, I don't know, James Dean if he was still alive' or something like that," Cook said. "But instead, I say the name of my ex-boyfriend."

Cook said she didn't immediately realize her mistake and posed the question back to Strong.

"He takes it on the chin," Cook said. "And then I say, 'Well, what about you?' And he goes, 'Danielle.'"

Cook then turned to the camera, addressing Strong, and said, "Did you think I'd forget?"

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The clip earned a shocked reaction from Strong and Friedle, while Fishel immediately dissolved into laughter.

Strong eventually admitted, "I was probably trying to make her jealous."

When Fishel agreed, he added, "She's probably right that I expected her to say, like, some, you know, famous celebrity dead guy. When she said that, I was like, 'Fine.'"

Fishel quipped, "'Well, how about my friend that you know that we hang out with every day?'"

Fishel previously confessed to having a childhood crush on Strong during a 2022 episode of their recap podcast, a fact that took him by surprise at the time. Revisiting the subject in their latest episode, their cohost Friedle couldn't help but inquire about whether the duo ever tried pursuing a relationship.

Fishel and Strong on 'Boy Meets World'.

ABC/Courtesy Everett

"Just for the record, have you guys ever kissed? Anything?," he asked.

"On TV," Fishel answered, referencing an episode of the sitcom. When Friedle asked if they ever kissed outside of the show, they both gave a firm, "No."

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Fishel admitted, "We were cuddly, the way teenagers are cuddly," to which Strong added, "Which would probably cross the line now."

The actress agreed, joking, "I would not ever go over to your house and lay with my head on your chest and my leg draped over your leg listening to Counting Crows now, but we definitely did."

That light drama aside, Strong had only kind words to say about Cook, noting that she was "the definition of cool" when they dated in the ’90s.

"The thing about Rachael is that she always thought of herself as a dorky person. And it was like, there was nothing ever dorky," Strong said, prompting Fishel to agree. "She was earnest, but she just always had the best taste in clothes and music and movies and art," he continued. "She was so sophisticated, but she never thought of herself as sophisticated."

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