Maitland Ward has revealed details about her surprising career shift and the substantial income it has generated, RadarOnline.com reports.
The 49-year-old, known for her role in the sitcom Boy Meets World, discussed the stark contrast between her earnings from the show and her current income from OnlyFans.
In Monday’s episode of Hollywood Demons: Child Stars Gone Wild, Ward shared that she earned “$20,000 or $25,000” per episode for her role as Rachel McGuire on Boy Meets World, according to Us Weekly.
She highlighted the lack of job security in acting at that time, stating, “I didn’t have all the guarantees. I could be fired at any point.”
Currently, her financial situation is vastly different, with Ward claiming to earn “six figures a month” on OnlyFans.
“I am creating this brand,” she mentioned. “I can make it go for as long as I want it to go.”
Apart from her sitcom success, Ward’s television career included a role as Jessica Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful.
In 2019, she transitioned to the adult content industry and started her OnlyFans account, which she elaborated on in her memoir, Rated X: How Porn Liberated Me From Hollywood.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Ward described her new career path as empowering.
“My story is multifaceted,” she expressed. “It’s really a story of self-discovery and finding who you are as an authentic person in any way that you want to.”
She also reflected on the time it took to come to terms with her early experiences in Hollywood.
“It was very therapeutic to tell the story at the age that I am now… about my young self coming up in a business that thought of her as a product,” she recounted.
Ward recalled being “sexualized” during her stint on Boy Meets World, admitting she didn’t fully understand it back then.
“We all just thought it was normal and nobody thought anything of it,” she explained. “But when you examine it… it’s really troubling.”
Ward provided a candid critique of the industry she grew up in, likening it to a system that exploited young actors for financial gain.
“I can’t speak to how Hollywood is today because it’s such a different animal than it was back when I was getting into it,” she noted. “Back then, I think they looked at these young actors as like property coming in.”
She continued, “I think it was such a factory kind of environment. Like you were just a product being sold, and you knew that yourself.”
Ward also addressed the challenges faced by young women in the industry.
“Women were just put into this box where you had to be this young woman that was either a virgin and a s— all at once,” she remarked. “And I hate to use those terms exactly, but that’s what it was.”
Citing Britney Spears as an example, Ward added: “She had to go on TV and swear up and down she was a virgin, but she was being used provocatively… it was all for this twisted male gaze.”
