Maitland Ward’s husband, Terry Baxter, defended her daring turn in porn — eventually encouraging her to film scenes with other men.
“He saw a truth in me that I wouldn’t go overboard to hang out with guys, actually,” the author, 45, tells Vidak For Congress exclusively as she promoted her new memoir, “Rated X: How Porn Liberated Me from Hollywood.”
Ward — who rose to fame as a teen soap star in “The Bold and the Beautiful” before playing Rachel McGuire in the Disney hit “Boy Meets World” — began sharing racy material years ago, posing in skimpy cosplay attire on social media, and creating explicit content with other women.
“The girl stuff, I’ve had a lot of fun with girls. That wasn’t really a burden [Baxter]. A lot of guys like that,” says the red-haired beauty, who was delightfully shocked when her husband suggested the idea of performing with men.
“He saw that I had a lot of these fantasies.”
In 2019, Ward made her adult feature film debut in “Drive” – directed by esteemed porn veteran Kayden Kross – featuring a host of male entertainers. Since then she has worked with more, most recently in ‘Drift’.
In the gleaming five-part Vixen Media Group project, also headed by Kross, Ward wields authority and seduces X-rated actors Anton Harden and Alex Jones (no, not That).
“[My husband] really was the one who came and, out of nowhere for me, he said, ‘I see this in you. You really should try this. You really want to live out these fantasies,” she says of his vital observation that eventually gave her the green light.
After taking a hit, Ward offers, “I think it makes our relationship stronger.”
Baxter, 47, a real estate agent in the Los Angeles area, helped Ward capture content in the early days of her career switch. He was also by her side when she filmed her first hardcore sequence with a member of the opposite sex.
“At the end, the first one we did, nothing bad had happened. It was a controlled situation. I had to act out a fantasy, then it was done and we went back to our lives. So I really think it strengthened our trust in each other and his trust in me as well,” she says, explaining how the experience only helped their marriage.
“I felt really lifted by that. It’s more of a connection there.”
Ward is grateful to Baxter for acknowledging her need for free speech after she escaped mainstream Hollywood, an industry in which she felt limited.
“Especially so many men, including women, are very jealous and want to put their partner in a box. And he knows I’ve been boxed in Hollywood for so long,” says the Long Beach, California native, who grew tired of playing the good girl next door, sexualized only when it was convenient for male TV executives.
“[My husband] really saw that if he stopped me from doing this, he would be the one to keep me in a box right now. And he knew how much effort it was and how hard it was for me for so many years,” Ward continues.
“I was finally coming up and having fun and I was successful, so he didn’t want to stop my trajectory. And I mean, hey, it went better than I could have ever imagined.”
The AVN Award winner says she is proud to be one of the highest paid women in porn, honored as much for her talent in front of the camera as for her writing and production skills.
“I just hope…my story helps de-stigmatize [sex work]’, she says of the intent behind her ‘Rated X’ book, adding that enduring societal shame for porn and related professions is disappointing.
“It is a pity that there are still stigmas attached to it. People always say that porn ruins people’s lives and that’s really not true because a lot of girls — and people — get into porn where it’s a safe haven for them,” she explains.
“If they feel different or feel like they need to hide sexually, they can find a place with people who are like them, who support them, and who can live their truth.”
Ward believes that shame leads porn stars to dark places, not the industry itself.
“They’ve been banned. The stigma, that’s really what drives people apart. I believe it either gets them into heavy drugs or drives them to terrible things like depression and suicide,” she says. “The bad things you hear about are because they’re so stigmatized in the public.”
Ward stresses that the “freedom to express ourselves sexually” on film — and its lucrative possibilities — outweigh any chastisements from the general public.
“These girls make so much money and they save, a lot of them, for college, they buy houses. I know several pornstars who have made so much money and are investing in real estate,” she notes. “It is mainly empowerment. I know it was for me.”
“Rated X: How Porn Liberated Me from Hollywood” is in stores now.