‘Saved By the Bell’: Did Any Lead Stars Date Each Other?
For some people, Saved by the Bell is that “before” show. It’s the show Tiffani Thiessen was on before she was on Beverly Hills 90210. It’s the show Mario Lopez was on before he was on Extra. And it’s what Elizabeth Berkley was known for before she was a showgirl.
For others, however, it’s got plenty of nostalgic pull, as evidenced by the fact that a reunion Saved By the Bell show was made with most of the original cast. That may lead some people to wonder if the actors on this show of raging hormones actually dated each other. The short answer is yes. The longer answer depends on whom you talk to.
What was ‘Saved by the Bell?’
Saved By the Bell didn’t start with that title. Originally, it was a reconfiguration of the Disney channel series called Good Morning Miss Bliss, about a group of high school friends.
According to Mental Floss, that show was to star a teen idol of yesteryear, Hayley Mills. She starred in the original Parent Trap, later remade with Lindsay Lohan and Lindsay Lohan.
The show made stars out of its cast, also including Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond, and Larkin Voorhies, The show proved to be a launching pad for many careers.
Voorhies played Lisa Turtle, the “rich girl” of the bunch who was particularly known for her interactions with Screech, played by Diamond. She was a secondary character at first, but her role became more prominent to the point that she did appear in spin-offs and TV movie sequels.
Although many of the actors went on to star in racier fare, Saved by the Bell was loved and dismissed for the same reason: It made a point of being “clean.” In order to maintain the show’s wholesome vibe, executive producer Peter Engel forbade on cursing on the set.
Gosselaar later expressed his relief at being able to let loose a bit while filming the 1998 movie Dead Man on Campus. “It was nice to actually swear on the set,” Gosselaar said. “It was like, ‘Ooh, I can say that?'”
Who dated whom on ‘Saved by Bell?”
The show itself may have been clean, but that didn’t preclude behind-the-scenes relationships. According to the Mental Floss roundup, Gosselaar and Voorhies dated for a time, and according to Gosselear himself, they weren’t the only ones.
The actor said in an interview with People: “All of us dated at one point or another—it was incestuous! Sometimes the girls would gang up on the guys. Tiffani and Elizabeth would hate me, and then they’d hate Lark because Lark was talking to me, and Mario was supposed to side with someone.”
Thiessen added her own two cents: “Did we have crushes on our costars? Absolutely,” she said. “But we were so young!”
What’s the status of the reboot?
Like so many intellectual properties these days, Saved by the Bell has been rebooted for a new generation for Peacock, the streaming service by Universal, which launched this week.
The new show features appearances by some of the original cast, including Lopez, Berkeley and Thiessen appear, although Voorhies lamented that she was not asked to participate. The actress had struggled in her personal life, particularly with mental health issues.
Per Popculture.com, the new faces include Mac Morris, played by Mitchell Hoog, Morris being Zack’s son. Other Bell spawn include Jamie Spano, son to Jessica. He’s played by Belmont Cameli. Haskiri Velazquez portrays the role of Daisy, and Alycia Pascual-Pena can be seen as Aisha, Daisy’s (Haskiri Velazquez) best friend. Dexter Dardenl plays the role of Devant, while veteran actor John Michael Higgins is the principal.
