Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Celebrity Married Life Matthew Lawrence Clarifies Comments, Says He Didn't Mean to Put 'Pressure' on Chilli to Have Kids Matthew Lawrence previously shared that he and girlfriend Chilli have a "game plan" to begin their family By Georgia Slater Georgia Slater Georgia Slater is a staff editor on the Parents team at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2018. Her work has previously appeared in USA Today and Washington Life Magazine. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 15, 2023 03:46PM EDT Matthew Lawrence; Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Photo: Jim Smeal/Shutterstock; Amy Sussman/Getty Matthew Lawrence is clearing up previous comments he made about starting a family with girlfriend Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. After recently going public with comments about wanting to have kids with Chilli, the Boy Meets World star, 43, clarified in a new interview with E! News that he "didn't mean to put any pressure" on the singer. "It's such an interesting story. Joe and I were commiserating about this plan that we had to have children together … when we were growing up," he said of older brother Joey Lawrence. "And I missed the first go around and now he's starting a new family and I was thinking, 'Man, it'd be great if we could do it again, when I didn't have the chance to raise a family together.' " "So that's what I meant by that. I didn't mean to put any pressure on somebody I was dating or anything," he explained. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Matthew Lawrence and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Enchanted Branding & PR Cheryl Burke Says She 'Truly Hopes' Ex Matthew Lawrence Can Have a Baby with TLC's Chilli Speaking of the TLC singer, Lawrence added that she's "an amazing person." "She's already a mother, she has an incredible son. I respect so much as to how she's raised him," he said of Chilli's son Tron, 25, whom she shares with ex Dallas Austin. "She'd be an incredible mother again and I'd be incredibly lucky but that's way in the future." Earlier this month, Lawrence told Entertainment Tonight that he and the singer, 52, have a "game plan" to begin their family. Asked by ET's Deidre Behar if children are in the cards in the near future, Lawrence said, "That's the game plan. That's what we're trying to do." "My life is in complete bloom right now. I get to spend time with an amazing woman like Chilli," he added. "I've never gotten to be able to experience that kind of relationship before. She's really, really special." Lawrence and Chilli became involved romantically just ahead of Thanksgiving 2022 after they were previously photographed on a beach in Hawaii that August. News of their relationship came just over three months after Lawrence and ex Cheryl Burke finalized their divorce after nearly three years of marriage. Chilli's longtime rep Christal Jordan confirmed her client was dating Lawrence in January in a statement to PEOPLE, saying, "I've been with Chilli since 2005 and I've never seen her this in love."