It’s been 15 years since Pretty Little Liars debuted on ABC Family and introduced fans to one of TV’s most controversial romances: Aria Montgomery and Ezra Fitz.
Portrayed by Lucy Hale and Ian Harding, the pair sparked major conversation for depicting a student-teacher relationship with a clear age difference—though they weren’t the only questionable couple on the show.
Reflecting on the show’s seven-season legacy with The Hollywood Reporter, the cast and creator Marlene King admit that it’s a relationship they “probably” wouldn’t include if the series were being made today.
What we know now about grooming, that was not something we talked about 15 years ago. I’ve always thought that if we revisit the world, we would have to deal with that. That would be a storyline we’d have to pay attention to and give focus to. But I think they can have their happily ever after because they were everybody’s favorite couple.
King told the outlet
Aria and Ezra — known to fans as Ezria — first met at a bar just before Aria started her junior year of high school, and went on to become the show’s longest-running couple, despite the controversy surrounding a college graduate/high school English teacher kissing his 16-year-old student.
We were definitely probably crossing a line I wouldn’t cross now, but I don’t want to take away from what they had, either. It was very satisfying for a lot of fans.
King noted
Harding has often poked fun at his character, once jokingly calling Ezra “America’s most beloved pedophile” in his 2017 memoir Odd Birds.
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While he admits the relationship wouldn’t be easily accepted today, he hopes the couple’s “meaningful connection” is “enough to justify the deeply problematic relationship that was certainly not great at the time.”
As society has progressed, we realized how wildly inappropriate it was. But at the same time, just because you depict something on TV doesn’t mean you condone the behavior. It is a story meant for entertainment, and the show was a thriller. Now that I look back on it, I see that it was just like the show, with the twists and turns, and it had some horror elements and then it also had this romance component. So I don’t deeply regret it, because it’s fiction. But I also realize that it did bring up a lot of harder discussions about what is actually considered abuse and what is considered love. Found happiness, and there was little collateral damage or pain inflicted by the relationship. There was plenty of pain and horror everywhere on the show, but oddly enough, their relationship seemed to be a safe haven in the storm. There’s no part of me that is feeling such great shame for having played this part. I don’t have any apologies for playing this character. I do think he was definitely icky in some knowledge, but on the whole, he’s fictional.
Harding added and Harding reasoned that, despite their trials and tribulations, Aria and Ezra
On the other hand, Hale has consistently supported the couple, even while recognizing that it reflects “a different time.”
At the time I was cast as Aria, I was 19 years old and I wasn’t really thinking about the bigger themes of it all. I was just stoked to be cast in a TV show. Of course, it hits differently at my age now and I think about the bigger message in anything I play.
the actress told THR
But even with the criticism it still draws from some viewers over a decade later, Hale said she has no regrets about bringing the couple to life onscreen.
I stand behind their love story forever. That forbidden love story drew a lot of people in.
Of course, Ezria wasn’t the only Pretty Little Liars couple marked by a concerning age gap. Troian Bellisario’s Spencer Hastings was involved with two older men during the series, and Sasha Pieterse was just 12 when they filmed the pilot, spending her early teens acting opposite much older co-stars.
For Pieterse, navigating those age differences on PLL was something that “never felt weird in the moment.”
Now a mother herself, the actress says she’s “very aware” of those dynamics in a whole new light.
When I go back [and watch] I think, ‘How did I feel filming that?’ I always felt protected. But it’s a weird thing that we do because even though everybody else was over 18, those storylines are still depicting minors. I feel comfortable with it, but it’s an odd thing to wrap your head around.
she recalled
Source: EW