Boy Meets World star Danielle Fishel reacts to fans criticizing Topanga for choosing Cory over Yale

Class isn't quite dismissed when it comes to fan reactions to Boy Meets World.

Actress Danielle Fishel, who played Topanga across seven seasons of the ABC sitcom, has responded to ongoing criticism over her character's decision to give up a scholarship to Yale and propose to her longtime boyfriend Cory (series lead Ben Savage) in the season 5 finale "Graduation."

"It wasn't our vision," Fishel told Insider, explaining that, under creator Michael Jacobs, the series was always meant to chart a path for its central childhood sweethearts through the rest of their lives.

Jacobs wanted to show that "you can meet someone when you are young and know without a shadow of a doubt that as long as you're willing to work through highs and lows and really fight for someone that you can make a relationship work forever," Fishel said.

"Whether or not Cory and Topanga, or Topanga, made the right decision about choosing him over Yale, I'll never know, but I think it worked out for her life," she continued. "I think Topanga had something that she wanted, which was a family and a relationship with Cory, and she also wanted a career. And at the end of the day, it did not stop her from pursuing her career and becoming a lawyer and becoming a judge, regardless of whether or not she got the degree from a more prestigious university."

Fishel and Savage continued the pair's story after Boy Meets World concluded its original run in 2000 when Disney Channel revived their narrative for its Girl Meets World spin-off, which ran for three seasons between 2014 and 2017 and expanded on Topanga's journey into adulthood.

The actress now hosts the Pod Meets World podcast with costars Will Friedle and Rider Strong. They revealed in a recent interview with PEOPLE that they still keep in touch with William Daniels, the actor who portrayed the beloved teacher Mr. Feeny on the series.

"He's still giving [advice]," Friedle said of Daniels. "Ninety-five years old and he still shoots out the pearls of wisdom. His wife, Bonnie, as well. Talking to them is still magical."

Hear more on all of today's must-see picks on EW's What to Watch podcast, hosted by Gerrad Hall.

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