Real-Life Love
All About ‘Boy Meets World’ Star Danielle Fishel’s Husband & Their Love Story That Began in High School
Millions of viewers grew up watching Danielle Fishel play Topanga Lawrence on Boy Meets World. The actress is back on ABC this fall, but this time on Dancing With the Stars. Fishel is the first Boy Meets World cast member to hit the ballroom. One person who will be supporting her every step of the way? Her husband, Jensen Karp.
Ahead of her DWTS debut, Karp sweetly commented on Fishel’s latest Instagram post, “She has worked so hard. It’s been an inspiration for me and the kids. I can’t wait for everyone to see her and @pashapashkov. But also, if you can’t see it live, just vote for her?”
Karp is Fishel’s second husband, and they’ve built a family together. Since Fishel is dancing her way to a hopeful victory with pro Pasha Pashkov, Swooon has rounded up all the details you need to know about Fishel’s husband, their relationship, and her past marriage.
Who is Danielle Fishel’s husband?
Fishel is married to Jensen Karp, also known by his stage name, Hot Karl. He’s a well-known producer, podcaster, and writer.
The couple first met in 1995 when they were both students at Calabasas High School. However, their romantic relationship didn’t start until nearly two decades later. During a 2017 episode of his podcast, Get Up On This, Karp revealed he was dating the actress. They got engaged on March 22, 2018.
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“We got engaged today. I don’t have anything witty or funny to say to accompany this picture. She is just the greatest person in the world and to imagine someone I went to high school with was always my person, is remarkable. You never know,” he wrote on Instagram. Fishel and Karp married months later on November 4, 2018.
Does Danielle Fishel have kids?
Yes, Fishel and Karp have two children together, a son named Adler Lawrence Karp. Adler was born a month early on June 24, 2019. He spent three weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit because of a rare condition called chylothorax, which causes fluid buildup in his lungs. The couple welcomed their second son, Keaton Joseph Karp, on August 29, 2021.
Did Danielle Fishel and Ben Savage ever date?
Fishel and Ben Savage had the central love story on Boy Meets World as Topanga and Cory Matthews. Despite their onscreen chemistry over many years, Fishel and Savage were never in a relationship in real life. “No, we never dated,” Fishel told fans at 90s Con, according to People.
However, they did go on one date during their seven-season run. “There was literally I think one moment where Ben and I looked at each other after we had been working together for like two years and were like, ‘Are there feelings there?'” she said. “And then we went out to dinner, and we were like, ‘No!’ ”
Who is Danielle Fishel’s ex-husband?
After the end of Boy Meets World, Fishel enrolled at a California college when she was 27. That’s where she met fellow student Tim Belusko. They started dating and got engaged in May 2012. They said “I do” on October 19, 2013. The Girl Meets World star filed for divorce on October 23, 2015. Their divorce was finalized the following year. Belusko now appears to live in Phoenix, Arizona, working as a National Accounts Manager for Constellation Brands, per his LinkedIn.
Did Danielle Fishel date Lance Bass?
Yes, Fishel did date NSYNC singer Lance Bass for a year in the 1990s. They even went to Fishel’s senior prom together! They broke up, obviously, but remain close friends today.
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“Lance and I are actually working on a movie about our love story and about our prom experience,” Fishel said during an episode of Pod Meets World, her Boy Meets World rewatch podcast with costars Rider Strong and Will Friedle. “I dated Lance for about a year while I was on Boy Meets World. It was my senior year, and Lance came with me to my high school prom.”
Bass, who was a guest star in that podcast episode, added, “The reason we wanted to make this prom story into a film, I think so many people can relate to that story; so many people in the LGBT community, their prom night was the night they were like, ‘Oh, wait a minute. This can’t happen anymore,'” he said. “This was the catalyst for me that made me start to accept myself, which took a long time after that, but that was definitely the first little straw that broke.” The singer came out as gay in 2006.
Dancing with the Stars, Season 34 Premiere, Tuesday, September 16, 8/7c, ABC and Streaming Live on Disney+
For more Dancing With the Stars, pick up a copy of TV Guide Magazine’s Dancing With the Stars: 20th Anniversary Special Collectors Issue, on stands now or available at DWTS.TVGM2025.com.
