Earlier this week, Boy Meets World actor Trina McGee announced she’s pregnant at age 54.
Trina, who played Angela Moore on the ABC sitcom, revealed the news in a brief Instagram post: “At the tender age of 54 I have found myself pregnant. Please bless us with your prayers for a safe delivery. Thank you.”
It comes 26 years after Trina gave birth to her third child; she shares two of her kids with her ex-husband, Courtland Davis, and welcomed another child in a previous relationship. She has been married to actor Marcello Thedford since 2008 and is currently pregnant with their first child together.
Trina’s post was flooded with supportive messages from fans who rushed to congratulate her on her pregnancy.
However, Trina’s former Boy Meets World costar Maitland Ward’s reaction to the pregnancy news has since raised several eyebrows.
On Wednesday, Maitland, who portrayed Rachel McGuire in the show’s later seasons, was approached by TMZ and asked if she had “any thoughts” on Trina’s pregnancy news.
Maitland began, “I knew [Trina] when she had three kids, when she was pregnant back on the show. Actually, I came on just after she had had the last baby.”
She then seemed surprised as she said of Trina’s pregnancy news, “That’s... Wow,” with a laugh.
“I hate to say it, but my first thought was, Is this April Fools’ Day?” Maitland admitted. “But I read the post and stuff… I hope that’s not a publicity stunt.”
When asked why she thought it would be a publicity stunt, Maitland shared, “Because I have not seen any verification or information. I would think in the first days, she’s probably trying to be safe and everything, so I give her her space and all that.”
“But I hope that as it goes along, she would show us her journey ’cause it’s a pretty big deal,” she added.
Maitland went on to say that Trina sharing her journey with the world “would help a lot of women” with “fertility issues” before noting that the pregnancy should absolutely “be celebrated.”
The actor also said that she and Trina have “always” had a “great” relationship. “She’s always been supportive of me, and I’m supportive of her in [her] pregnancy,” she said.
Several internet users took issue with Maitland’s initial response to Trina’s pregnancy, calling it “passive-aggressive” and shady.
“Why throw shade at a pregnant woman? Horrible response,” one YouTube comment read.
“An odd bitter passive aggressive response,” someone wrote, while another echoed, “What a passive aggressive weird public response.”
“See, people thought Trina were exaggerating when she talked about her co stars being a certain way with her,” one more person added, referring to Trina’s past comments about being mistreated by certain cast members on the Boy Meets World set.
If you didn’t know, Trina previously called out the racism she faced while shooting the sitcom from some of her former costars. While she has not called out Maitland directly, it has since been revealed that leading actors Will Friedle and Danielle Fishel were two of the main people involved.
“Called aunt Jemima on set during hair and make up. Called a bitter bitch when I quietly waited for my scene to finish rehearsing that was being f’ed up over and over due to episode featuring my character. Told ‘it was nice of you to join us’ like a stranger after 60 episodes,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter, back in 2020.