Boy Meets World was considered one of the greatest TGIF comedies of all time for showing the coming-of-age struggles of Cory, Topanga, Shawn, Eric and more. After the hit ABC show’s series finale aired in 2000, career transitions didn’t come easy for the former child stars. In the case of Topanga Lawrence actress Danielle Fishel, I was shocked to discover that she was in a very bad place when the beloved sitcom ended and even admitted that it was “not a fun year.”

Several members of the cast of Boy Meets World cast recently explained what happened to their careers after the TGIF series ended. Rider Strong said on the latest episode of the podcast series Pod Meets World that he traveled to Spain with a friend, starred in the independent movie Buck Naked Arson and then moved to New York to study at Columbia University. Co-host Will Friedle starred on the short-lived NBC Go Fish, and he now wishes he had taken an acting break after playing Eric Matthews.

As for Danielle Fishel, she described her post-BMW year as not being all that pleasant. The actress and media personality recalled what she absolutely didn't "want" at that time:

That year was not a fun year, not a year I like revisiting at all. [...] I know for sure I had said, ‘I don’t want anything. I don’t want to audition for anything. I’m just, I’m done for a bit.’ And I don’t remember there being a lot of pushback.

As Fishel also mentioned on the podcast, she was recovering from a “very bad, unhealthy relationship” around the time the show ended. So I can understand why she wouldn’t have found that year “fun,” with two big parts of her life coming to an end. On top of that, considering she played Topanga for seven seasons, it makes sense why she would want to take a break from acting.

Fishel also previously said that she felt her final BMW years were “tainted” by wanting the show to be over at the time. But the former Dish host also admitted that she doesn’t take those years for granted. Not only did the Arizona native not want to audition anymore, but she also got real about why it was a challenge for her to land roles in her young adult career:

But, at this point now, I was 19 gonna be 20 and [Judy Savage] is a kid’s agent. And so, there was also this transition where there wasn’t that much for her to be sending me out on anyway because she was a kid’s agent. So for me to say, like ‘Oh, I’m in a holding pattern, I’m not sure what I’m going to do.’ We just kind of put that on hold. And then I did eventually sign with the Young Talent department at Innovative, which was run by Abby Bluestone, who is still there and she’s amazing.

Obviously, by that point, Danielle Fishel was no longer the little girl who first played the uniquely outcast classmate of Cory who would eventually become his wife. As her agent represented kids, her career would naturally be put on pause until she got representation at Innovative. However, Fishel still collectively described the period between 2000-2007 as years she doesn’t like revisiting.

Even though the period after Boy Meets World ended was “not fun,” Fishel still made great strides later as an adult actress. In 2014, she reprised her role of Topanga on the series spinoff Girl Meets World for its three-season run. And, in 2025,, she joined season 34 of Dancing with the Stars, where she placed eighth. Most recently, Fishel will star with the cast of The Sandlot in the comedy YouTube series Dugout Dads, which premieres on August 26th.

As a major fan of BMW, it saddens me to hear Danielle Fishel talk about such hardships in the wake of the sitcom's conclusion. But, thankfully, Fishel has proved herself to still be an incredible actress as well as a podcast host and dancer, proving that her story is far from over. You can revisit her work as Topanga, though, by streaming Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World with your Disney+ subscription.

Just your average South Floridian cinephile who believes the pen is mightier than the sword.