{"id":1955830,"date":"2025-08-12T12:22:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T12:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1955830"},"modified":"2025-08-12T12:22:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T12:22:13","slug":"clueless-elisa-donovan-recalls-secretly-dating-joey-fatone-after-making-fun-of-nsync","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/clueless-elisa-donovan-recalls-secretly-dating-joey-fatone-after-making-fun-of-nsync\/","title":{"rendered":"Clueless\u2019 Elisa Donovan Recalls Secretly Dating Joey Fatone After Making Fun of \u2018NSync"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/entertainment\/news\/alicia-silverstones-relatable-and-imitate-able-clueless-had-us-totally-buggin-30-years-ago\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Clueless;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Clueless<\/a> star<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrities\/elisa-donovan\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Elisa Donovan;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><strong> Elisa Donovan<\/strong><\/a> thought she\u2019d be saying \u201cbye, bye, bye\u201d after working with \u2018NSync \u2014 but began secretly dating one of the boyband members instead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThey did an episode of Clueless,\u201d Donovan, 54, recalled during the Monday, August 11, episode of the \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/1119-pod-meets-world-98589488\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Pod Meets World;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Pod Meets World<\/a>\u201d podcast, referring to the Clueless TV series that ran from 1996 to 1999. \u201cThe studio said, \u2018This is a really big deal. These guys are coming out.\u2019 And I was just like, \u2018Right. Are you kidding me? These little boys? This, like, boy band?\u2019 I was literally making fun of them before they got to set.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Despite her initial hesitancy, Donovan\u2019s perception of the group \u2014 which consists of <strong>Joey Fatone<\/strong>, <strong>Justin Timberlake<\/strong>, <strong>J.C. Chasez<\/strong>, <strong>Lance Bass<\/strong> and <strong>Chris Kirkpatrick<\/strong> \u2014 quickly shifted when the fivesome arrived on set.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThey&#8217;re super professional. They&#8217;re really kind. Incredibly talented,\u201d she remembered thinking. \u201cAnd I was like, \u2018Oh, I&#8217;m the jerk.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrity-news\/news\/danielle-fishel-shares-boy-meets-world-era-crush-on-rider-strong\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Danielle Fishel Reveals She Had a Crush on \u2018Boy Meets World\u2019 Costar Rider Strong in the \u201990s: \u2018You Never Told Me!\u2019;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Danielle Fishel Reveals She Had a Crush on \u2018Boy Meets World\u2019 Costar Rider Strong in the \u201990s: \u2018You Never Told Me!\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">After their time working together, Donovan claimed that she started \u201changing out\u201d with the band and eventually, she and Fatone, 48, \u201cstarted dating.\u201d (Donovan starred as Amber in 1995\u2019s Clueless before reprising the role on the ABC\/UPN sitcom.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThat was under the radar,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Donovan and Fatone\u2019s romance led to her spending time at concerts backstage with the band, where the actress recalled running into <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/articles\/boy-meets-world-cast-feuds-191816584.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Boy Meets World;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">Boy Meets World <\/a>star and \u201cPod Meets World\u201d cohost <strong>Danielle Fishel<\/strong>, who was dating Bass, 46, at the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI remember going to the show at the Staples Center or something in L.A., like, one of the big venues,\u201d Donovan said during Monday\u2019s episode. \u201cI get out of the car, and I am swarmed as if I am one of the Beatles, you know? And they were just like, \u2018She&#8217;s going in to see them!\u2019 And I was like, \u2018Oh my God \u2026 this is insane.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"T4DCLUE AB006, Elisa Donovan\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"1192\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/Nh5q5UXAX8YW65K8H.H_lQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTExOTI7Y2Y9d2VicA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/us_magazine_896\/8b678d7f295df1a4de282150ca01c757\"\/><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"caption\">Elisa Donovan<\/span> <span class=\"credit\">ergus Greer \/ TV Guide \/\u00a9 ABC \/ Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Donovan called the \u2018NSync pandemonium \u201cwild\u201d to experience, sharing that they would look to hang out at places the guys wouldn\u2019t get mobbed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Eventually, Donovan was cast in \u2019NSync\u2019s video for their hit 1999 single \u201cThinking of You (I Drive Myself Crazy),\u201d in which Donovan plays Fatone\u2019s love interest who slaps him after he kisses another girl in front of her. Fishel, for her part, said she wasn\u2019t featured in the video because \u201cLance had just broken up with me,\u201d but <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/entertainment\/pictures\/boy-meets-world-cast-where-are-they-now\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:she was on set;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">she was on set<\/a> for filming.<\/p>\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"NSYNC (l to r): Chris Kirkpatrick, Lance Bass, Justin Timberlake, J.C. Chasez, and Joey Fatone\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"636\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/EJr5kJ1I9.KAHLAWctSYuA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYzNjtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/us_magazine_896\/8889dec3ea00a0cea493c062106ca9a7\"\/><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"credit\">Everett Collection<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI thought you weren\u2019t in it because you didn\u2019t want to be. I thought it was too on the nose because then people would know you guys were dating,\u201d Donovan said, to which Fishel replied, \u201cAt this point he had already told people on <strong>Jay Leno<\/strong> we were dating, so I was, like, the first girlfriend to be allowed to be talked about.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Fishel noted that the \u201cDrive Myself Crazy\u201d video was right after her prom, where the pair had called it quits, but Bass still \u201cinvited me to the shoot, which was really painful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/entertainment\/news\/alicia-silverstones-relatable-and-imitate-able-clueless-had-us-totally-buggin-30-years-ago\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Alicia Silverstone\u2019s Relatable and Imitate-able \u2018Clueless\u2019 Had Us Totally Buggin\u2019 30 Years Ago;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Alicia Silverstone\u2019s Relatable and Imitate-able \u2018Clueless\u2019 Had Us Totally Buggin\u2019 30 Years Ago<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI was so sad,\u201d she confessed. \u201cI think I even brought our prom pictures to that shoot. Like, \u2018Here\u2019s our prom pictures, are you sure you want to do this?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Bass <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/lance-bass-says-cw-pilot-224421450.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:came out as gay;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">came out as gay<\/a> in 2006, seven years after his breakup from Fishel. Donovan, for her part, recalled questioning Bass\u2019 sexuality back in the day, asking Fishel if the rest of \u2018NSync knew about Lance\u2019s sexuality and kept it a secret. Fishel claimed that while \u201cChris did say things regularly\u201d behind the scenes, Lance was \u201cvery much of the belief that he could \u2018shake the gay away\u2019 if he could just meet the right girl.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cWe loved each other, it was just platonic,\u201d Fishel explained. \u201cAnd we still care about each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Clueless star Elisa Donovan thought she\u2019d be saying \u201cbye, bye, bye\u201d after working with \u2018NSync \u2014 but began secretly dating one of the boyband members instead. \u201cThey did an episode of Clueless,\u201d Donovan, 54, recalled during the Monday, August 11, episode of the \u201cPod Meets World\u201d podcast, referring to the Clueless TV series that ran [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1955831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[305296,343195,339950,50227,313883,343194,24509,338354,317372],"class_list":["post-1955830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-nsync","tag-chris-kirkpatrick","tag-clueless-tv-series","tag-danielle-fishel","tag-elisa-donovan","tag-joey-fatone","tag-justin-timberlake","tag-lance-bass","tag-pod-meets-world"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Clueless-Elisa-Donovan-Recalls-Secretly-Dating-Joey-Fatone-After-Making.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1955830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1955831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1955830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1955830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1955830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}