When "Pretty Little Liars" returned with a five-year time jump this month, all of the Liars are all grown up and dealing with problems at work while being hounded by a new Big Bad.
But while Aria (Lucy Hale), Hanna (Ashley Benson), and Spencer (Troian Bellisario) appear to be flourishing in their respective careers, Emily (Shay Mitchell) seems to be struggling. Last Tuesday, Hanna caught Emily injecting hormones into herself, and Emily had no choice but to admit that she was donating her eggs to make money.
While there have been speculations that Emily might be sick, Mitchell told The Hollywood Reporter that her character is truly having some financial difficulties and this is what she's dealing with now.
"She was honest in the fact that she had no money, and this is her way of going about it," said the actress. Mitchell said that Emily will definitely be emotionally affected by the hormones, as seen when she got into an argument with Aria.
On what convinced Emily to do this, Mitchell said that it was the fact that her father left her with money but she squandered it in California. And unlike the other Liars, she wasn't in the right mindset to attend college and she found the experience harder than she ever could imagine.
"To get quick, fast money, she must have seen an ad somewhere [for donating eggs] and got the idea," she said.
When asked whether Hanna will keep the secret or tell the other girls about it, the 28-year-old said that Hanna will leave it up to Emily to tell Aria and Spencer about it.
"She sits down with the girls and gets it out there," the actress said, adding that she doesn't want to be alone and that she doesn't want to hide anymore. And while the girls may not agree with her, Mitchell said that the others will be supportive of Emily's decision.
"They always have each other's back, even though they may not always agree completely," said the actress.
"Pretty Little Liars" airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on Freeform.
