Melissa Joan Hart has revealed she enjoyed a ‘secret, whirlwind’ romance with Boy Meets World star Will Friedle when she was in her teens.
The Sabrina The Teenage Witch star, 47, who recently revealed she was almost fired from the show for a topless cover, detailed her romance with the Eric Matthews actor, 47, in the 1990s in his Pod Meets World podcast.
He said: ‘I was with you for, like, your 14th birthday or 15th. Remember we went to some place where it [had] those big tanks you could drive or shoot the tennis balls at?
‘We went out for that, and we were, like, making googly eyes at each other. And by the end of the night, we were dating.’
Hart quipped the pair ‘called each other a few times on a landline’ with Friedle retorting: ‘It was a whirlwind romance.’
Cute: Melissa Joan Hart has revealed she enjoyed a ‘secret, whirlwind’ romance with Boy Meets World star Will Friedle when she was in her teens (pictured 1997 aged 21)
![1997: He said: 'I was with you for, like, your 14th birthday or 15th. Remember we went to some place where it [had] those big tanks you could drive or shoot the tennis balls at? 'We went out for that, and we were, like, making googly eyes at each other'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/08/24/17/74691247-12442121-1997_He_said_I_was_with_you_for_like_your_14th_birthday_or_15th_-m-16_1692893553221.jpg)
1997: He said: ‘I was with you for, like, your 14th birthday or 15th. Remember we went to some place where it [had] those big tanks you could drive or shoot the tennis balls at? ‘We went out for that, and we were, like, making googly eyes at each other’
Neither of the duo could remember if they ever kissed.
The pair crossed paths on screen in the 1997 Boy Meets World episode The Witches of Pennbrook – which saw Hart’s character Sabrina Spellmann cross over into the series.
The pair are now working on a new film together with Friedle, who wrote the flick, teasing the plot: ‘Essentially, it’s Melissa and I did a movie together back in the ’90s [that was never finished] for a bunch of very funny reasons.’
He said the director then ‘has to get his cast back together to finish their ’90s movie even though [they’re] all now almost 50.’
Hart also confirmed that she dated actor Corky Martin back in the day.
She has been married to Mark Wilkerson since 2003 and the couple share sons Mason, 17, Braydon, 15 and Tucker, 10.
Friedle has been married to Susan Martens since 2016.
This comes after Melissa revealed that she was nearly fired from her role on the TV show Sabrina The Teenage Witch.
That was because she posed topless and in her undies at the age of 23 for a Maxim cover in October 1999.
During an episode of the Pod Meets World podcast the actress shared she was blindsided with the news that she was being axed from the show, in which she played the title character, after participating in a photoshoot.
Family: She has been married to Mark Wilkerson since 2003 and the couple share sons Mason, 17, Braydon, 15 and Tucker, 10
Heartthrob: Will is pictured in September 2022
The performer, who recently attended a SAG-AFTRA rally in New York, then expressed that the controversy surrounding magazine cover ended up boosting the success of another one of her projects.
Hart began by speaking about posing for a photo with Britney Spears on what she described as ‘the worst day of my life’ at the time.
The Melissa & Joey star expressed that, prior to the party, she was informed that she had been fired from her role in Scary Movie and recently broken up with her boyfriend.
The performer recalled that, during an afterparty that took place at Planet Hollywood that same night, she was informed that she was being let go from Sabrina The Teenage Witch as a result of her work for Maxim’s October 1999 issue.
She recalled: ‘My lawyer shows up and goes, “You did a photoshoot for Maxim magazine?” I’m like, “Yes, I did.” They’re like, “Well, you’re being sued and fired from your show, so don’t talk to the press. Don’t do anything.”‘
The cover for the magazine featured a headline that read ‘Sabrina, Your Favorite Witch Without a Stich!’
The usage of the character’s name violated a clause in Hart’s contract with Archie Comics, under which she was never to portray the teenage witch naked.
She stated that ‘so, here they were thinking I’m in breach because I’m playing the character. No, that was supposed to be me promoting [Drive Me Crazy].’
The actress also remarked that she only did ‘whatever my publicist told me to do at the photo shoot. Like I did a photo shoot for Maxim! It’s Maxim, of course you’re gonna be in your underwear’
Risky business: Melissa Joan Hart revealed she was nearly being fired from her role in Sabrina The Teenage Witch after posing for a Maxim cover during an episode of the Pod Meets World podcast
Looking back: During her interview, which was released on Monday, the 47-year-old actress expressed that she was blindsided with the news that she was being axed from the show, in which she played the title character, after participating in a photoshoot
The performer also expressed that she did not expect to have her role on Sabrina referenced in the magazine.
‘It wasn’t supposed to be a character. I had no control over what they wrote on the cover,’ she said.
Hart explained that she defused the situation by writing a letter of apology, after which she was able to keep her role as Sabrina.
The performer also expressed that the ‘drama’ surrounding the magazine cover ended up giving her movie a publicity boost.
She stated that the racy image ‘made for Drive Me Crazy to come out and be a huge success.’