Boy meets world — and girl reveals on-set secrets. BMW alum Maitland Ward, who portrayed Rachel McGuire on the fan-favorite series from 1998 to 2000, detailed her nuanced experience on the ABC sitcom in her debut memoir, Rated X: How Porn Liberated Me from Hollywood.
Ward, 45, reflected on her time on BMW with both a critical lens and fond memories. The Bold and the Beautiful alum, who has since transitioned into adult film, joined the ’90s hit during season 6 as Eric Matthews (Will Friedle) and Jack Hunter’s (Matthew Lawrence) roommate, portraying the character until the end of the series. The tall, lean and redheaded Rachel initially served as a love interest for both Eric and Jack, and though she quickly became friends with the whole group, Ward recalled her sexually-tinged plot lines.
“Everything to do with my story line was kind of sexual, and no one tried to hide it,” the White Chicks actress wrote in her book, which was released on Tuesday, September 6. “There was always an undertone or innuendo — some joke that junior high boys might make as they compared d—k size next to their lockers.”
Moreover, since “Rachel was the only character to consistently take off her clothes,” Ward penned, “I was asked to try on lingerie for the producers in the office. This happened more than once.”
The California native, who has won multiple Adult Video News (AVN) Awards in the 2020s, discussed the hypocrisy of the Boy Meets World producers wanting her character to be sexual — but chastising her for expressing her sexuality on her own terms.
“I need to be compliant when they wanted to use my body as a story point but guilty when I wanted to express anything with it on my own,” Ward wrote in her memoir. “Even if I really let loose and started to enjoy taking [NSFW] pictures, I would be held back from that. [Creator] Michael [Jacobs] would come down and give me a talk about how wildly desperate I was being perceived and that I needed to mind myself and handle this professionally and without a smile.”
Ward is just the latest BMW star to express her distaste for how the show handled the actors’ sexuality. Friedle, 45, exclusively told Us Weekly last month that he and Rider Strong (who portrayed Shawn Hunter throughout the entire run of the show) would discuss the “creepy” and “gross” way their respective characters’ character arcs often revolved around them kissing girls.
“Rider and I talk about one of the things is the constant kissing. We were kissing girls every week and it was kind of creepy the way it kept happening,” the Kim Possible alum recalled. “It’s not like the actresses had wonderful story lines. It was just, like, you are there to kiss us that week. It was really kind of gross.”
As for their real-life relationship today, Ward and Friedle have each other’s backs when it comes to their careers — to a point.
“I heard from Will not too long ago and he was so sweet,” the Muse actress exclusively told Us in November 2021. “He [was] saying how supportive he was of me, but he won’t watch [any of my adult films].”
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Keep scrolling to read more of Ward’s memories from her time on Boy Meets World — including drama with Danielle Fishel:
