Source: ABC Photo Archives / Getty
A photo of hit 90’s sitcom Boy Meets World cast members recently went viral on Twitter. The tweet features then and now side by side photos of actors Rider Strong and Trina McGee, which sparked a bigger conversation. Where are they now?
With the help of true love Topanga, best friend Shawn and teacher Mr. Feeny, the protagonist, Cory Matthews, juggles school, friends and romance. The series became a popular Friday night staple on ABC for seven seasons, began with Cory in the sixth grade and follows him and his entourage through their college years.
Unfortunately, Shawn Hunter and Angela Moore’s relationship ended simultaneously with Boy Meets World, but Rider Strong confirmed in an interview with People Magazine that he and Trina McGee are “closer than ever.”
Strong played Shawn throughout the seven-season run from 1993 to 2000 and McGee played Angela for the last two seasons. Shawn and Angela’s love was beautiful and unconventional at the time, but fan discourse over why they didn’t last was superseded in January 2020 by McGee, calling out the racism she endured while filming the series.
“I think that storyline really resonated with a lot of people—having an interracial relationship at a time when that just wasn’t on television, I believe. I’m glad we did that,” Strong told People. “Now that I’m doing these conventions and meeting the fans, it just seems like that really meant a lot to people. And we knew it at the time, but now, as we’re older, we appreciate it. And also just the fact that it brought Trina into my life. It changed me.”
McGee also shared more about what her tweets disclosed to in a July 2020 interview with Yahoo, where she also revealed it was Friedle who had called her ‘Aunt Jemima’ during hair and makeup on set.
“I don’t think [Friedle] understood how I had to deal with it,” McGee said. “I didn’t have a hairdresser. All those little micro braids you see, I stayed up all night doing them right before I went on national television for myself.”
McGee goes on to share that while Friedle’s initial apology at the time of the racially insensitive comment didn’t feel “completely sincere,” he “wrote a long email” after her tweets, and apologized once again.
“He said that it was a journey for him since that day that he had called me Aunt Jemima,” the actress and writer continued. “And it was a journey of thinking about himself, thinking about what he’s been taught as acceptable to other cultures … what might hurt people.”
Angela and Shawn’s Boy Meets World storyline ended abruptly, as Angela went on to live with her father in Europe and told Shawn that they shouldn’t say goodbye but instead just tell each other “I love you,” but it was finally wrapped up for good during a June 2015 episode of the spinoff series Girl Meets World.
Strong says he’s, “pretty much done with acting,” and made his music video directorial debut last summer. As for McGee, she is said to be living her life, doing the things she enjoys most like painting and putting on plays with her kids in her spare time.
Check out this adorable side by side of the two Boy Meets World Stars below.
