Maitland Ward has opened up about her time on The Bold and the Beautiful

and admitted she was shocked to “be in the world again” when she left the show.

The 47-year-old actress appeared on the soap opera as Jessica Forresterfrom 1994 until 1996.

The Bold and the Beautiful was Maitland’s first work as an actress and while she enjoyed every minute of being on the soap opera, she felt as though she had to reinvent herself when she left.

Maitland explained how she started off the audition process when she was just 16 years old, appearing in the show aged 17. Speaking exclusively to The Mirror US, she said: “It was a whirlwind there because first of all, I was a soap fan.

“I was definitely a soap fan from my preteen years. I watched Days of Our Lives, I had watched the first episode of The Bold and the Beautiful when it came out when I was a kid so it was fun.” She continued: “Coming out of the show was just mind-blowing because I was just immersed in this world and I was a star on the show when I had been a fan for so long.”

Speaking about leaving the show, Maitland said: “I really had to reinvent myself in a way because I was a young woman and I wanted to see who I wanted to be in life and after the show, leaving it was kind of jarring to be out there in the world again after almost three years.”

She also spoke fondly about her fellow actors and said they looked after her during filming. Maitland told us: “The cast was amazing, they really took care of me.” She joked they were “all worried I was gonna go wild” so made sure to keep an eye out for her.

After leaving The Bold and the Beautiful, Maitland ended up playing Rachel McGuire on Boy Meets World. She said: “That was an amazing time too, to be landed into a show that was already so popular and so established and so, starting out with all of that, it was amazing.”

She also described her time on both shows as a “great wild ride.” Maitland has now turned her back on mainstream film and TV and started a career in the porn industry.

Talking about her decision to change careers, the actress admitted it was a “slow progression”. She said it started off with her sharing pictures on Instagram before teaming up with a company to shoot an adult entertainment movie.