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The “Pretty Little Liars” series finale airs on Tuesday. In celebration of the show’s final episode, Gossip Cop is looking back at five rumors we’ve busted about “PLL” and its cast over the years.
“Pretty Little Liars,” adapted from the book series of the same name, premiered on ABC Family on June 8, 2010. Over 159 episodes (soon to be 160!), seven seasons and the introduction of Freeform, there’s been countless rumors, lies and scandals. And we’re not just talking about what happened on the screen.
In April 2013, there was speculation Ashley Benson was dating Tyler Blackburn, who together make up “Haleb,” one of the drama’s core relationships. But while fans desperately wanted Hanna and Caleb’s alter-egos to have a real-life relationship, Benson set the record straight after calling Blackburn “my boo” on Instagram. Asked if they were dating, she gave a one-word response: “Nope.”
Benson was forced to again deny a romance just a few months later, when Us Weekly quoted “multiple insiders” who claimed she and Blackburn were “dating in real life.” Upon seeing the story, the actress didn’t hesitate calling out the tabloid. “Haha @usweekly what are you gonna come up with next??? Hilarious,” she tweeted, adding, “Although I do love you @tylerjblackburn.” And while romancing each other for TV, Benson and Blackburn did develop an incredibly close bond.
In 2015, for instance, fans thought Benson was pregnant when she posted on Instagram a photo of what appeared to be a baby bump. To be fair, the star actually tricked fans a bit. The picture featured Blackburn kissing her stomach, with the caption, “First trimester [check].” As rumors of a real pregnancy instantly spread, Blackburn revealed it was all a joke by posting same, yet opposite, picture on his own Instagram. That one had Benson kissing HIS “bump,” and the caption, “Second trimester [check].”
Meanwhile, Lucy Hale was the subject of a 2013 Star story that wrongly claimed she “threatened to quit” the show because co-star Shay Mitchell was supposedly getting more attention than her. Hale was ridiculously accused of having a “bad attitude” and being a “diva,” yet she remained a beloved, key cast member throughout the series’ run, as did Mitchell. Gossip Cop was told at the time that the tale was “so not true,” and Hale herself even tweeted, “For the magazine claiming I am quitting Pretty Little liars…that is absolutely false. I love the show and everyone involved.”
Rumors about Hale possibly quitting resurfaced in 2015, when she was quoted in V magazine as saying, “I’ll be done next October with [‘Pretty Little Liars’] forever, which is exciting, but also scary at the same time, because it’s the next chapter of my life and so I’m really looking forward to exploring different and darker roles.” It was incorrectly interpreted that the actress was abandoning ship. In actuality, she was talking about being contracted through fall 2016, just like the other cast members. And sure enough, that’s when filming for the series wrapped up. Her tweet as the time clarifying (“I am not leaving PLL!! All these rumors. I’m with the show until the 7th and last season”) was not a lie at all.
Through the years, Gossip Cop even busted rumors involving the show’s stars and Justin Bieber. And while the Liars may finally move past A in the big finale, Gossip Cop will still be here to separate fact from fiction about the cast for years to come.