Rachael Leigh Cook has shared a rare glimpse into her teenage romance with Rider Strong.

Speaking to Strong’s Boy Meets World costar, Danielle Fishel, on the Wednesday, March 18, episode of  the“Teenbeat” podcast, Cook, 46, reflected on their ‘90s relationship.

The She’s All That star revealed that Strong was “romantic” and “so deep” during their time together, and admitted that in hindsight she “didn’t understand him” as well as Fishel did.

“Rider’s the most poetic soul,” Cook said. “I remember this moment he had like, come to visit me in Italy, and there was this, like, field of sunflowers on the way to where we’re going.”

Cook explained that Strong, 46, decided on the spur of the moment to tell the driver to make a pitstop so the couple could run through the sunflowers together.

“He tells the driver, ‘Stop the car.’ And he looks at me and I’m like, ‘Oh no, what are we doing?’” Cook recalled. “We have to run into these flowers, like, really, spikey-looking flowers, like a movie.”

The actress noted that the experience made her realize that their personalities weren’t necessarily aligned enough for the relationship to be sustainable.

“I knew in that moment, like, I’m not, I’m not the person, what he’s ultimately gonna need,” she said. “And I tried, we got a little way into that field, and I was just like, ‘I don’t know about this.’”

The Josie and the Pussycat Dolls star also shared one of Strong’s past confessions to her.

“I remember one time he said to me, like, ‘If you weren’t with me, you know, who would you want to be with?” Cook recalled, explaining that she had responded with the name of her ex-boyfriend.

Cook then told Fishel, 44, that when she asked Strong the same question, he answered, “Danielle.”

Fishel has previously been candid about her crush on Strong while they acted together on Boy Meets World – which took place during the same time period that Strong was dating Cook.

Fishel first revealed her former feelings for her costar during an August 2022 episode of their podcast “Pod Meets World.”

“He was so smart, and … one of my favorite things about Rider — and it continues to this day — [is that] Rider is very effusive,” she said of what initially drew her to Strong.. “He will tell you how he feels and he’s very free with his compliments, but he doesn’t throw them out willy-nilly. When he compliments you, it is thoughtful, it has meaning, and you can tell it’s coming from a very real place.”

In an October 2023 episode of the podcast, Fishel read a passage from her teenage diary written in the ’90s, which detailed her jealousy over Cook and Strong’s relationship.

“Then we went to acting class but we had to wait for Rachael,” Fishel recounted, pointing out that the word “Rachael” was underlined in annoyance. “Then Rider and Rachael got all lovey-dovey, and it made me want to puke. Then they kissed, and it looked so cute. She’s actually really sweet and cool, but I really like Rider. I don’t think she’s right for him. Then again, maybe I’m not either.”

Long before news of his arrest, Kendra Duggar (née Caldwell) painted a warm picture of her life with Joseph Duggar, who rose to reality TV fame alongside his family.

Viewers got to know the Duggars on their now-defunct series 19 Kids and Counting, which premiered on TLC back in 2008, and gave an inside look at Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar’s conservative Christian household.

The couple began courting in March 2017 and got engaged within four months. Kendra and Joseph exchanged vows in September 2017. At the time of their nuptials, Joseph was 22 years old and Kendra was 19 years old. They went on to welcome four children together: sons Garrett and Justus and daughters Addison and Brooklyn.

Five years after the arrest of his brother Josh Duggar on child pornography charges, Joseph made headlines whens he was charged on March 18, 2026, with lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim less than 12 years old and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older.

Related: Joseph Duggar Celebrated His Family in Last Instagram Post Before Arrest

Former Counting On star Joseph Duggar celebrated his family in a series of Instagram messages posted four years before his arrest for allegedly molesting a 9-year-old Joseph, 31, and his wife, Kendra Duggar, started an Instagram account for their family in February 2019 but stopped updating it in November 2021. Their final post was published […]

Us Weekly is breaking down what Kendra has shared about her marriage to Joseph Duggar:

How Kendra Duggar Met Joseph Duggar

Kendra and Joseph grew close as their relatives formed a close friendship through church. They entered a courtship in March 2017, with the intention of seeing if their relationship could lead to marriage or if they “can serve and honor God better together than apart,” per the Duggar family website.

Within four months, Joseph popped the question to Kendra.

“We are super excited. It’s great to not be courting anymore, now we’re engaged!” the couple gushed to People at the time. “I’m so happy and so shocked. There’s so many words I want to say, but just shocked,” Kendra added.

What Kendra Duggar Has Said About Her Marriage to Joseph Duggar

“It was definitely strange to see myself, I think, in a wedding dress. You always dream of the day but when it actually arrives, you can’t really believe it,” Kendra told cameras while choosing what to wear on her big day during a season 5 episode of Counting On, which aired in 2018.

The couple went on to tie the knot at First Baptist Church in Siloam Springs in Arkansas.

“We’re so excited to be newlyweds now,” Joe said in a video message on the family’s website following their nuptials. “We just want to thank all the fans for all your support and your encouragement to us. Y’all mean a lot.”

After making it official, Kendra said she was cherishing the moments she got to spend with him.

“One of the most enjoyable things about being married to Joe is just being together so much,” Kendra told People. “I can hug him, kiss him, talk with and be with him all the time. Being with your best friend makes marriage amazing.”

They welcomed their first child, son Garrett, in 2018. Their second child, Addison Renee, was born the next year, then daughter Brooklyn Praise joined the family in 2021. Joseph and Kendra welcomed their fourth child in 2022.

Kendra stopped posting photos of her brood and sharing updates in 2021. The year prior, she gushed over their bond in an Instagram caption while celebrating their wedding anniversary.

Related: Joseph Duggar Arrested on Child Molestation Charges: What We Know So Far

Former TLC star Joseph Duggar was arrested on Wednesday, March 18, after being accused of molesting a 9-year-old girl in 2020. Wednesday’s arrest marks the second child sex abuse case to hit the famous family following Joseph’s older brother Josh Duggar‘s child pornography conviction. Josh was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison in December […]

“I absolutely LOVE doing life by your side! There are so many things that I admire about you but one thing that has really been apparent is how truly selfless you are,” she wrote at the time. “In this season of life that we are in where morning/all day sickness has changed the way we do things you have definitely picked up doing so much around the house as well as taking care of the kids. I’m feeling so blessed to call you my husband. I love you to the moon and back.”

What Has Joseph Duggar Been Charged With?

Joseph was booked in Arkansas on March 18, 2026, for lewd and lascivious behavior involving unlawful sexual activity with a minor after allegedly molesting a 9-year-old girl during a 2020 vacation in Florida, according to a press release.

He allegedly “admitted his actions” when confronted by the girl’s father and Arkansas detectives on March 17, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Florida revealed. Joseph is currently awaiting extradition to Bay County.

His wife and family have not publicly issued a statement.

Has Kendra Duggar Been Charged?

Days after her husband’s arrest, Joseph and Kendra Duggar were both charged with four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, second degree and four counts of second degree false imprisonment. Kendra was later released after paying a bond of $1470.

There aren’t many shows where every episode can be its own starting point. This is especially true of major franchises, which tend to attract audiences by their connections to other projects, but Star Wars: Visions defies those expectations. With three seasons’ worth of shorts, the series is a unique entry into the Star Wars universe, and because of that, it is also one of the franchise’s best shows.

Star Wars: Visions is an ambitious project, as the three-season anthology explores everything from the distant past to the far future. However, it allows for interesting world-building that no other Star Wars show can achieve. While it may seem confusing at first, Star Wars: Visions has a major advantage over other series in the franchise since it only requires a basic understanding of Star Wars, making it accessible to new viewers and dedicated fans alike. The beautiful artwork and individual styles of various international studios allow Star Wars: Visions to stand out, even in the ever-growing list of Star Wars content. Ultimately, Star Wars: Visions is an easy commitment, with no required viewing order and plenty of fascinating stories to choose from as a starting point.

‘Star Wars: Visions’ Explores Every Part of the Galaxy

Star Wars: Visions consistently expands the galaxy with storylines that introduce new planets and timelines. While the anthology series isn’t technically canon, it never defies what already exists, fitting within established continuity to provide a more thorough understanding of the world. It also expands the timeline, with episodes like “The Twins” set after the events of the Sequel Trilogy, while others, like “The Elder,” take place before any established story. Star Wars: Visions isn’t banished to the fringes of the galaxy either; some episodes even take place in familiar settings, such as “Tatooine Rhapsody,” which is on the Skywalkers’ home planet during the reign of the Empire. By exploring the Jedi and Sith, parent-child relationships, and more, Star Wars: Visions honors the beloved stories fans already know while offering a different perspective.

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Every ‘Star Wars: Visions’ Season 3 Episode, Ranked

The vision is clear for this anime series!

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‘Star Wars: Visions’ Has a Rich and Diverse World of Animation Styles

Star Wars: Visions‘ greatest strength is its range of animation styles, thanks to different anime studios working on each short. The overall concept of the series is to present Star Wars “through the lens of the world’s best anime creators,” and it does exactly that, though Season 2 expands to animation studios around the world. The experimental style allows each episode of Star Wars: Visions to truly be a unique work of art.

Additionally, this stunning and unique approach to the franchise enables the series to incorporate influences from other cultures into the Star Wars universe. With samurai-inspired stories like “The Duel,” influences from Irish folklore in “Screecher’s Reach,” a tribute to famous Spanish painters in “Sith,” and more, Star Wars: Visions is truly a global series where no two episodes are alike.

‘Star Wars: Visions’ Is an Accessible Answer to Franchise Fatigue

Image via Disney+

Among the many things to love about Star Wars: Visions is its low bar for entry, as the show doesn’t require the viewer to be an expert in franchise lore. In a world where too many series don’t make sense without being up to date on every project that came before, Star Wars: Visions is easy to digest. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how these shorts fit in the overall timeline, as they can all stand on their own, which takes the pressure off and allows viewers to simply enjoy the stories in their own right.

More uniquely, fans can begin with whatever story interests them most. Of course, there is a specific release order, but it’s easy to skip around or watch particular episodes without the context of others. This comes with a small caveat, as Season 3 does revisit the stories of three Season 1 episodes with sequels to “The Duel,” “The Ninth Jedi,” and “The Village Bride.” However, while these follow-ups build on characters from earlier in the series, their stories also work as standalone adventures. There is no show quite like Star Wars: Visions, making it a can’t-miss addition to the Star Wars universe.

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Release Date

September 22, 2021

Network

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Disney+

Franchise(s)

Star Wars

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  Michael Sinterniklaas

  Tuskan Raider

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[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Project Hail Mary.]

Much like the visionary directors behind Project Hail Mary, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, audiences have seen the powerful collaboration between author Andy Weir and screenwriter Drew Goddard on screen, even before critics began raving about Ryan Gosling‘s breathtaking space mission. In 2015, their first seven-time Academy Award-nominated alliance on The Martian showed audiences what could be done with a whip-smart script and the guts to put it to screen, and they’re ready to recreate that magic again.

Project Hail Mary is topping the charts with Gosling starring as Ryland Grace, a middle school teacher on a mission to save worlds with his cohort, a rock being and engineer Grace affectionately dubs “Rocky” (James Ortiz). The movie also stars Oscar nominee Sandra Hüller, The Bear‘s Lionel Boyce, Milana Vayntrub, and Ken Leung.​​

In this interview with Steve Weintraub, Weir and Goddard discuss their interest in a third team-up, how Gosling got involved with the project, and Weir’s approach to writing epic science fiction. Goddard shares the biggest lessons learned while working on The Martian, the pair discuss why Project Hail Mary‘s on-screen ending had to have minor adjustments, and tease what’s next for them.

Andy Weir and Drew Goddard Talk Future Team-Ups

“We’d be happy to just keep cranking ‘em out.”

Image via Amazon MGM

COLLIDER: After watching The Martian and now watching Project Hail Mary: You two need to do more together.

ANDY WEIR: That works for me

DREW GODDARD: We agree.

More. And it needs to be more than every 17 years.

GODDARD: Absolutely. From your mouth to God’s ears. Yes.

WEIR: All you’ve got to do is make sure studios are willing to give us, like, $150, $200 million to make a movie, and we’d be happy to just keep cranking ‘em out.

GODDARD: Also, you need to keep writing faster.

WEIR: I need to write faster.

GODDARD: But then again, I’m not the fastest either. [Laughs]

WEIR: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we waited for him. We had to wait months for him. We weren’t interested in having any other screenwriter do this, so we actually just held up the project because he was busy on something else. Our list of potential screenwriters was one: Drew Goddard.

GODDARD: Thank god they waited.

I say again, thank you. I really mean this when I say the movie is spectacular, and in IMAX, it’s just incredible.

WEIR: Spectacularer?

The IMAX experience, when it goes full frame, is really just like, “My god, this is why I go to the movie theater.”

GODDARD: Honestly, I hadn’t seen the finished version until last week at the full IMAX. I’ve watched this movie hundreds of times at this point, and I felt like I was seeing it for the first time. It’s stunning. You just see the majesty of what Chris [Miller] and Phil [Lord] were able to do. It was a magical experience.

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Guillermo Del Toro Praises Upcoming Sci-Fi Film Adaptation With “Beautiful” 10/10 Review

The ‘Pacific Rim’ director took to social media to share his praise.

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Ryan Gosling Chose ‘Project Hail Mary’

“That’s even better.”

Image via Amazon MGM Studios

Getting it into real specifics, [Andy], you sent this to Ryan [Gosling] in 2020 and said, “I’d like you to be the star, and I’d like you to produce.”

WEIR: Didn’t quite work that way. I think Ryan approached us. Or I did not personally do any of that. MGM, which at the time was just MGM before Amazon bought them, I think maybe approached talent with it, but Ryan was the one who said, “I want to do this.” So, that’s even better.

When you were writing the book, did you envision a certain actor in mind? How does that work?

WEIR: So there are two things to say on that. First off, I don’t have a very visual imagination, so in my mind, I just see sort of blobs of characters, blobs of this, blobs of that. When I’d finished the book, I couldn’t have told you what color Ryland’s hair was or what color his eyes were or anything like that. When I’m writing a book, and this is advice I give to any writers, you’re writing a book. Don’t think about movie adaptations. Don’t do that. If you want to write a movie, write a screenplay. Go for it. But if you’re writing a book, take advantage of the enormous space and infinite canvas you have on the book. Don’t try to think about things in terms of a potential adaptation.

What did you learn making The Martian in terms of the screenplay that you took with you to this, that sort of helped give you confidence in certain scenes? What were those big lessons learned?

GODDARD: I think the biggest lesson from The Martian was we learned from the audience that you don’t need to dumb it down. In fact, the audience likes it when you speak up to them, when you assume they’re smart enough to figure it out. That just gave us strength. Because I think you have this natural feeling of, “Well, we need to make sure everything gets explained,” and we learned it’s okay if you don’t understand everything, because audiences prefer that, because then they can learn. People love to learn, right? It’s part of the movie. This movie is a celebration of teaching, and it’s like, “Don’t be afraid. Just put it out there, and the audience will come to it.”

Andy Weir and Drew Goddard Fought to Keep ‘Project Hail Mary’s Ending Intact

“Thank God they did.”

With the ending of the book, was it always that ending, and how did you come to that? There are slight changes in the movie ending, so how did you determine what you wanted to do?

WEIR: Well, for writing the book, I knew what the last scene was going to be before I wrote the first words. I absolutely knew that’s how the book was going to end. There was never any other option in my mind. That is exactly how I wanted it to end. As for the film adaptation, I don’t know how spoilery we’ve been getting, but I think it’s exactly the same.

GODDARD: There are some minor differences, for sure.

It’s very, very close.

WEIR: Very minor.

GODDARD: It’s funny because there are like four scenes in the book that I was like, “Oh, I’ve never seen anything like this. This is why I want to do this.” The ending is definitely one of them. I also knew this was going to take some fights. People are not going to want this because people get scared when anything’s different, right? So we had to sort of gently remind our studios along the way of why this ending was so special and powerful. I think they did come around, and thank god they did. But any changes that were within it were to maximize the effect of the ending.

You’re making this on a budget, obviously, and you have a lot of money, but it’s never enough. So when you’re writing the screenplay, how cognizant are you in terms of budget?

GODDARD: It’s always in the back of my head because I want to make sure we can do it. The problem is that Chris and Phil are so visionary, and they come from animation, so they always figure they can figure it out. They always do. So, I think that push-pull between us led to what is on the screen. I cannot say enough about the visuals they put on the screen. I was there, and I still don’t know how human beings did it.

Image via Amazon MGM Studios

I said to Chris and Phil that they need to make more live-action movies. They’re incredibly talented.

GODDARD: Without question.

I obviously have to ask you as a fan, what are you currently writing or thinking about? Are you writing something that is not being talked about? What’s going on?

WEIR: I’m working on my next book now. I’m not talking about it publicly. I can tell you it’s science fiction, and it’s another standalone story. It’s not a sequel to anything I’ve written.

How long ago did you start writing?

WEIR: Well, this one I probably started about a year ago, and it hasn’t been going very fast because of a combination of duties on the Project Hail Mary film and having a toddler. So, those two things. [Laughs]

GODDARD: It does slow things down.

WEIR: It slows things down. [Laughs]

What else are you working on this year?

GODDARD: Right now, it is all Hail Mary all the time, so I am excited for this movie to come out.

Project Hail Mary is in theaters and IMAX now.

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Release Date

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March 20, 2026

Runtime

156 Minutes

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Director

Christopher Miller, Phil Lord

Writers

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Drew Goddard, Andy Weir

Producers

Ryan Gosling, Amy Pascal, Andy Weir, Aditya Sood, Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Rachel O’Connor

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