[]
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.
{ let bidders = [‘a9’, ‘ix’, ‘iris’]; // create a requestManager to keep track of bidder state to determine when to send ad server // request and what amazonSlots to request from the ad server var requestManager = { adserverRequestSent: false, }; //loop through bidder array and add the bidders to the request manager: bidders.forEach( function( bidder ) { requestManager[bidder] = false; } ); // return true if all bidders have returned function allBiddersBack() { var allBiddersBack = bidders // get the booleans from the object .map( function( bidder ) { return requestManager[bidder]; } ) // get rid of false values – indicates that the bidder has responded .filter( Boolean ) // if length is equal to bidders, all bidders are back .length === bidders.length; return allBiddersBack; } // handler for header bidder responses function headerBidderBack( bidder ) { // return early if request to adserver is already sent if ( requestManager.adserverRequestSent === true ) { return; } // flip bidder back flag if ( bidder === ‘a9’ ) { requestManager.a9 = true; console.log(‘second promise a9 ready’); } else if ( bidder === ‘ix’ ) { requestManager.ix = true; console.log(‘second promise ix ready’); } else if ( bidder === ‘iris’ ) { requestManager.iris = true; console.log(‘second promise iris ready’); } // if all bidders are back, send the request to the ad server if ( allBiddersBack() ) { resolve( url ); } } if ( typeof apstag == ‘object’ && apstag ) { apstag.fetchBids({ slots: [{ slotID: window.prerollTag[vHash], mediaType: ‘video’ }] }, function( bids ) { console.log( “AMI jwp amazon bid callback”, new Date().getTime(), bids ); window.jwpBids[vHash].amazon = true; if ( bids.length > 0 ) { //If we have received any bids back try { console.log(“AMI jwp amazon bid request ad”, bids[0].encodedQsParams); url = url + ‘&scp=’ + bids[0].encodedQsParams; } catch ( e ) { console.log(e); } } else { console.log(“AMI jwp amazon no bids”); } headerBidderBack(‘a9’); }); } else { headerBidderBack(‘a9’); } headertag.cmd.push( function() { headertag.retrieveVideoDemand( [{‘htSlotName’: ‘preroll’}], function( demand ) { console.log( “AMI jwp IX callback”, demand ); if ( ‘undefined’ !== typeof demand.preroll && demand.preroll.length ){ window.jwpBids[vHash].ixBids = demand.preroll[0].targeting.price; console.log( ‘AMI jwp IX Bids’, new Date().getTime(), demand.preroll[0].targeting ); var vastURL = new URL( url ); var vastParams = new URLSearchParams( vastURL.search ); if ( vastParams.has( ‘cust_params’ ) ) { var custParams = new URLSearchParams( vastParams.get( ‘cust_params’ ) ); } else { var custParams = new URLSearchParams(); } var keys = Object.keys( demand.preroll[0].targeting.price ); for ( var key of keys ) { custParams.set( key, demand.preroll[0].targeting.price[key][0]); } vastParams.set( ‘cust_params’, custParams.toString() ); vastURL.search = vastParams.toString(); url = vastURL.toString(); } headerBidderBack(‘ix’); } ); } ); // Get main item context data window.irisContext.getContext(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem().mediaid).then(function(data) { // Encode the context data console.log( ‘AMI jwp IrisTV Bids’, new Date().getTime(), data.context ); // Replace the server url with the context data (this is for simple ad requests), // If you have the serverUrl dynamically configured, then you will need to append the context data // under cust_params, so this is just for testing purpose if ( data.context && Object.keys( data.context ).length ) { var vastURL = new URL( url ); var vastParams = new URLSearchParams( vastURL.search ); if ( vastParams.has( ‘cust_params’ ) ) { var custParams = new URLSearchParams( vastParams.get( ‘cust_params’ ) ); } else { var custParams = new URLSearchParams(); } custParams.set( ‘iris_context’, data.context.join(‘,’)); vastParams.set( ‘cust_params’, decodeURIComponent( custParams.toString() ) ); vastURL.search = vastParams.toString(); url = vastURL.toString(); } headerBidderBack(‘iris’); }); setTimeout(function(){ resolve( url ); }, 10000); }); } var player_jwplayer_6NkoNxch_zhNYySv2_div = jwplayer(el).setup(videoParams).on(“ready”, function(){ var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_6NkoNxch_zhNYySv2_div” ); var playerInstance = jwplayer(el); ns_.StreamingAnalytics.JWPlayer( playerInstance, { publisherId: “6036076”, labelmapping: “ns_st_pu=”AMI”, c3=”Us Weekly”, ns_st_ge=”” + decodeURIComponent( “%2Anull” ) + “”, ns_st_ia=”” + decodeURIComponent( “%2Anull” ) + “”, ns_st_ce=”” + decodeURIComponent( “1” ) + “”, ns_st_ddt=”” + decodeURIComponent( “%2Anull” ) + “”, ns_st_tdt=”” + decodeURIComponent( “%2Anull” ) + “””, }); }).on(‘adsManager’, (e) => { var vHash = ‘ami’ + decodeURIComponent( ‘6NkoNxch’ ); const { adsManager, videoElement } = e; const iasConfig = { anId: ‘928572’, campId: `${jwplayer().getWidth()}x${jwplayer().getHeight()}`, // This is dynamic based on player dimensions, but can be hard coded chanId: window.prerollTag[vHash], placementId: ‘Open Auction’, pubOrder: ‘Video’, pubId: ‘Direct’ }; if (googleImaVansAdapter) { googleImaVansAdapter.init(window.google, adsManager, videoElement, iasConfig); } }).on( ‘time’, function( e ) { var id = this.id; var pct = Math.round( e.position ); if ( ! window.amiPlayersData ) { window.amiPlayersData = {}; } if ( ! window.amiPlayersData[id] ) { window.amiPlayersData[id] = { m3: false, m10: false }; } if ( window.amiPlayersData[id][‘m3’] === false && pct >= 3 ) { window.amiPlayersData[id][‘m3’] = true; console.log( ‘3sec played: ‘, id ); window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; dataLayer.push( {event: ‘JWPlayEvent’, jwTime: ‘3s played’} ); } if ( window.amiPlayersData[id][‘m10’] === false && pct >= 10 ) { window.amiPlayersData[id][‘m10’] = true; console.log( ’10sec played: ‘, id ); window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; dataLayer.push( {event: ‘JWPlayEvent’, jwTime: ’10s played’} ); } }).on( ‘complete’, function( e ) { if ( window.amiPlayersData && window.amiPlayersData[ this.id ] ) { window.amiPlayersData[ this.id ][‘m3’] = false; window.amiPlayersData[ this.id ][‘m10’] = false; console.log( ‘clear played: ‘, this.id ); } }).once(“play”, function(){ var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_6NkoNxch_zhNYySv2_div” ); var playerInstance = jwplayer(el); loadIrisPlugin(playerInstance, playerInstance.getConfig().plugins[“https://ovp.iris.tv/plugins/jwplayer/v2/iris-jwplayer8.adaptive.min.js”]) }).on(‘play’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_6NkoNxch_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); // skip if the video was paused and trying to resume if (jwplayer(el).getState() !== ‘idle’ && jwplayer(el).getState() !== ‘complete’) { return; } window.permutive.track(“VideoPlay”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language:”English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); console.log(“Permutive video play”); }).on(‘complete’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_6NkoNxch_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); // skip if the video was paused and trying to resume if (jwplayer(el).getState() !== ‘idle’ && jwplayer(el).getState() !== ‘complete’) { return; } window.permutive.track(“VideoComplete”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); console.log(“Permutive video event:”, e); window.lock_25 = false; window.lock_50 = false; window.lock_75 = false; window.lock_100 = false; }).on(‘time’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_6NkoNxch_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); var progress = (e.currentTime/e.duration).toFixed(2); if ( (0.25 === progress && false === window.lock_25) || (0.5 === progress && false === window.lock_50) || (0.75 === progress && false === window.lock_75) || (100 === progress && false === window.lock_100) ) { window.permutive.track(“VideoProgress”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play progress: Number(progress), video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); if ( 0.25 === progress ) { window.lock_25 = true; } if ( 0.5 === progress ) { window.lock_50 = true; } if ( 0.75 === progress ) { window.lock_75 = true; } if ( 1 === progress ) { window.lock_100 = true; } console.log(“Permutive video play progress ” + progress); } }).on(‘mute’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_6NkoNxch_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); window.permutive.track(“VideoEvent”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play event: (e.mute) ? “sound off” : “sound on”, video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() } }); console.log(“Permutive video event:”, e); }).on(‘fullscreen’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_6NkoNxch_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); window.permutive.track(“VideoEvent”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play event: (e.fullscreen) ? “fullscreen on” : “fullscreen off”, video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() } }); console.log(“Permutive video event:”, e); }).on(‘ready’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_6NkoNxch_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); console.log(jwInfo); window.lock_25 = false; window.lock_50 = false; window.lock_75 = false; window.lock_100 = false; window.permutive.track(“VideoLoad”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); console.log(“Permutive video load event”); }).on(‘adPlay’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_6NkoNxch_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ); window.adInfo = e; var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); window.adlock_25 = false; window.adlock_50 = false; window.adlock_75 = false; window.adlock_100 = false; window.permutive.track(“VideoAdPlay”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play ad: { duration: Math.round(window.adInfo.duration), creative_name: window.adInfo.adtitle, ad_id: window.adInfo.adId, title: window.adInfo.adtitle, video_type: “instream” //outstream }, video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); console.log(“Permutive video ad play”); }).on(‘adClick’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_6NkoNxch_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); window.permutive.track(“VideoAdClick”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play ad: { duration: Math.round(window.adInfo.duration), creative_name: window.adInfo.adtitle, ad_id: window.adInfo.adId, title: window.adInfo.adtitle, video_type: “instream” //outstream }, video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); console.log(“Permutive video ad click”); }).on(‘adTime’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_6NkoNxch_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); var progress = (e.position/e.duration).toFixed(2); if ( (0.25 >= progress && false === window.adlock_25) || (0.5 >= progress && false === window.adlock_50) || (0.75 >= progress && false === window.adlock_75) || (0.95 >= progress && false === window.adlock_100) ) { window.permutive.track(“VideoAdProgress”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play progress: Number(progress), ad: { duration: Math.round(window.adInfo.duration), creative_name: window.adInfo.adtitle, ad_id: window.adInfo.adId, title: window.adInfo.adtitle, video_type: “instream” //outstream }, video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “6NkoNxch” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); if ( 0.25 >= progress ) { window.adlock_25 = true; } if ( 0.5 >= progress ) { window.adlock_50 = true; } if ( 0.75 >= progress ) { window.adlock_75 = true; } if ( 0.95 >= progress ) { window.adlock_100 = true; } console.log(“Permutive video ad progress ” + progress); } }).setPlaylistItemCallback(function(item, index) { return waitForAmazon // Wait until Amazon is loaded. .then(() => performAsyncBidding( player_jwplayer_6NkoNxch_zhNYySv2_div, item, index ), () => { console.log(“AMI JWP bidding FAILER”); }) // External bidding. .then(tag => { // Update the playlist item. console.log(“AMI jwp new headerbid”, tag); return Object.assign({}, item, { adschedule: [{ tag, offset: “pre” }] }); }).catch(function(e){ console.log(“AMI jwp bidding failed”, e); return item; }); // If bidding fails, use unmodified playlist item. });; clearInterval(checkJWReady); } }, 500); })(); ]]>
“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].”
Keep scrolling to read more of Ward’s memories from her time on Boy Meets World — including drama with Danielle Fishel:
