<\/p>\n Danielle Fishel<\/strong><\/a> and Maitland Ward<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s drama started long before their heated \u201cPod Meets World\u201d conversation.<\/p>\n Fishel and Ward met while filming Boy Meets World<\/em><\/a> season 6 in 1998. Fishel had been on the series since its inaugural season in 1993, and Ward joined the cast five years later. The women worked together until the series wrapped up in 2000.<\/p>\n Years after Boy Meets World<\/em> came to an end, Fishel would go on to return to the spinoff series Girl Meets World<\/em> and later transitioned to working behind the scenes in TV. Ward, for her part, joined the adult entertainment industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n In those years since the show had wrapped, Ward and Fischel sparked a feud. It seemingly began over Ward claiming that she reached out to Fishel via Facebook to congratulate her on her engagement to her first-husband Tim Belusko<\/strong> in 2012. However, Fishell claimed that she did not see the message until years later. (Fishel is now married to husband Jensen Karp<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n The pair reunited on a February 2025 episode of \u201cPod Meets World,\u201d<\/a> which Fishel hosts alongside fellow costars Will Friedle<\/strong> and Rider Strong<\/strong>, and Fishel and Ward got into a heated exchange<\/a> over their issues.<\/p>\n Keep scrolling for a break down on Fishel and Ward\u2019s feud:\n<\/p>\n On the ABC show, Fishel and Ward played Topanga and Rachel, respectively. They worked together for two seasons until the series wrapped up in 2000.<\/p>\n At one point when the spinoff was airing from 2014 to 2017, Ward visited the set for a taping but did not make a guest appearance on camera. Ward claimed that Fishel was cold toward her.<\/p>\n \u201cI was shocked that she didn\u2019t even \u2026 she said \u2018Hello,\u2019 that\u2019s it. It\u2019s just a weird kind of thing, and I wish that we could be friends and I don\u2019t know the full reasons behind it,\u201d Ward exclusively told Us Weekly<\/em><\/a> in September 2022. \u201cI had heard maybe she didn\u2019t like the whole old costars on the show, the girls to come back on there or something, but I don\u2019t know why she didn\u2019t or doesn\u2019t like me \u2026 we didn\u2019t, like, have a blowout. I was expecting bear hugs like I got from the guys [Ben Savage and Rider Strong], and [with Danielle] it was like, \u2018Oh \u2026 hi.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Three years later, Ward and Fishel rehashed the interaction and offered some clarity<\/a> about why she wasn\u2019t very friendly while working.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a very, very difficult set. Let\u2019s put it this way: The memories we have of the fun set of Boy Meets World<\/em> were not the memories [from the] set of Girl Meets World<\/em>,\u201d Fishel said in February 2025. \u201cIt just wasn\u2019t. And I went into it hoping it was going to be. I went into it expecting it to be. And it wasn\u2019t. It was a rather tumultuous place. It was a place I felt very ostracized. I felt very criticized. I felt a lot of different things being on that set.\u201d<\/p>\n Fishel apologized to Ward for thinking she had \u201csomething personally against\u201d her.<\/p>\n In Ward\u2019s book, My Escape from Hollywood: Unapologetic, Unfiltered and Unashamed<\/em>, she opened up about her ups and downs with Fishel while on set.<\/p>\n \u201cShe definitely didn\u2019t seem to hate me,\u201d she wrote in the 2022 memoir. \u201cIn fact, we connected over things you wouldn\u2019t expect, like our love of Chihuahuas and pet rats. Still, no matter how well we got along, there would always be a part of me that distrusted her and her motives toward me, and it all stemmed from Kaitlin Simpson Michael [Jacob\u2019s] first warnings.\u201d<\/p>\n During Ward\u2019s February 2025 appearance on \u201cPod Meets World,\u201d the actress claimed that Fishel ignored her Facebook message from 2012 and unfriended her. Fishel denied that she ignored it and stated that she does not frequent the platform.<\/p>\n \u201cI am not a Facebook person,\u201d Fishel said. \u201cI then went into my Facebook page, saw that we were not friends. Didn\u2019t remember when we were friends on Facebook or when we were no longer friends on Facebook. I found your message in the graveyard of messages, and I then felt very bad.\u201d<\/p>\n Fishel explained that she wanted to reach out to Ward to apologize so asked Friedle for her number. However, she was told to save their conversation for Ward\u2019s eventual appearance on the podcast.<\/p>\n Fishel and Ward\u2019s drama reignited during a heated exchange on a February 2025 episode. While the chat started off nice, things took a turn which prompted Fishel to ask Ward if she \u201chated\u201d them. Ward replied, \u201cNo,\u201d but decided to air out her grievances.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was some beef between us and I didn\u2019t get it. And maybe I picked up the wrong signals, but definitely there was some sort of weirdness there,\u201d Ward said, adding that she \u201cdid not know\u201d what could have gone wrong with the twosome\u2019s friendship. \u201cI didn\u2019t know if you thought that I was trying to come onto the set and take over. Not take over, but try to steal attention or something. But I didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n Fishel responded, \u201cI was on the cover of Maxim<\/em> in 2014.\u201d<\/p>\n Ward then went on to claim that Fishel, Friedle and Strong had problems with the show creator and star Ben Savage<\/strong> (who is famously no longer on speaking terms<\/a> with his costars) because of comments they made on the podcast. The trio denied the sentiments. She also accused the hosts of \u201cgrilling\u201d her in the interview.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s be honest about this, you\u2019re trying to go at me now because of the ratings and because people will be interested,\u201d she claimed. Fishel replied, \u201cNo Maitland, I\u2019m not the one who wanted to go for ratings.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the tense conversation, it did end in a calm manner.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was nice to reminisce,\u201d Fishel said. \u201cShare some good times, share some not-so-good times.\u201d<\/p>\n Following the headline-making appearance, Ward reflected on her and Fishel\u2019s back and forth<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just surprised by the whole situation, and I\u2019ve had a little time to reflect on it since I did the show a week and a half ago,\u201d Ward told TooFab<\/a> in an interview one day after the show dropped. \u201cIt just felt uneasy to have people that you called friends \u2014 especially in the past, I thought Danielle was my friend \u2014 I can see that she did not like me, and she has harbored not liking me through the years, but it\u2019s sad to me too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n Danielle Fishel, Maitland Ward.<\/span> Getty Images(2)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u2018Boy Meets World\u2019<\/h3>\n
![\"Boy](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Boy-Meets-Worlds-Danielle-Fishel-and-Maitland-Wards-Feud-Explained-2.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>\u2018Girl Meets World\u2019 Drama<\/h3>\n
Maitland Ward\u2019s Memoir Claims<\/h3>\n
The Facebook Debate<\/h3>\n
\u2018Pod Meets World\u2019 Argument<\/h3>\n
![\"Boy](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Boy-Meets-Worlds-Danielle-Fishel-and-Maitland-Wards-Feud-Explained-4.jpg?w=1000&quality=40&strip=all\")
<\/div>Podcast Aftermath<\/h3>\n