Shay Mitchell Spills On Emily's 'PLL' Love Life

Of all the things one could call Pretty Little Liars, "uneventful" is typically not one of them. And yet during Season 6 of the Freeform hit, some fans took to labeling Emily's love life — or lack thereof — as just that. Although the character played by Shay Mitchell has had a number of romances over the course of the show (Paige, Maya, Sara Harvey...) PLL 's most recent season saw Emily's love life taking a backseat to her health drama and attacks by A. Yet according to Mitchell herself, Emily might get a new girlfriend in PLL Season 7 — at least if the actor has her way.

"I hope that she finds somebody that she cares deeply about," Mitchell tells Bustle while promoting her new film Mother's Day. "It’d be nice to get to have someone in Emily’s life that is special to her this season."

That's no guarantee that the character will get a new girlfriend, of course, but the fact that her portrayer is wishing for some romance certainly bodes well. Still, although Mitchell is well aware of viewers' frustrations about Emily's Season 6 stagnancy, she seems to think that it was for the best.

"I know that last season, a lot of the fans were saying that Emily didn’t have much of a love life," says Mitchell. "My answer to them was just that she’d had a revolving door of girls ever since the series began, so maybe she needed a little bit of a break."

Fair enough — especially considering all the non-romantic drama Emily has been dealing with over the last few seasons of PLL. Last year alone, Emily got trapped and tortured in a dollhouse; suffered from PTSD; confronted A; realized the girl she liked was working for A; lost her beloved father; left college; was stalked by Sara; nearly got run over by a car; and went through several painful procedures in the hopes of selling her eggs for money. With all that happening, who'd have time for a relationship? Yet, like PLL's fans, Mitchell wants Emily to eventually have a calm, easy life.

"I hope that the girls figure this out and put an end to it," she says. "I kind of want things to end in a happy way."

And while her castmates have voiced their desire for the show to end on a pretty dramatic note, Mitchell will gladly take something simple. "I know the other girls are like, 'everybody dies, there’s just one person left!" she says, laughing. "And I’m like, 'alright, I don’t know about that.' I would take it if Emily ended up living in Europe somewhere with her lover and just had a cat."

But no matter what lies ahead for Emily, Mitchell seems confident it'll work out for the best. Says the star, "I’m sure the writers aren’t gonna leave us disappointed, that’s for sure." And in the meantime, she's busy promoting PLL Season 7, which may or may not be the series' last; although stars like Lucy Hale have hinted that these new episodes will mark the show's end, neither Freeform nor PLL creator I. Marlene King has confirmed or denied this. When I mention that this upcoming season is possibly it for PLL, Mitchell is quick to jump in.

"Exactly, possibly," she says, adding emphasis onto the word. "I think I have to keep saying that, otherwise I’ll just start bawling. It’s been such an amazing journey with all of [the other PLL stars]. Six years have gone by so quick, and I’m sure this one will too."

As the ensemble's many adorable Instagrams and Snapchats from April's Freeform Upfronts showed, the whole group seems to be a mixture of excited and heartbroken to know that PLL Season 7 could potentially mark the show's end. Says Mitchell, "I think this year especially, regardless of whether or not it’s the last year — you never know — I think it’s really about being present and taking in all the moments and really just letting it all sink in."

Yet it's clear she's already nostalgic. When I ask her to name a few PLL favorites (moment, villain, crazy event...) she's immediately game, seemingly more than happy to revisit the show's highlights. Whether she's talking about filming the pilot episode ("it was my first scene on my first TV show, and I remember it like it was yesterday") or reminiscing over Emily's most memorable on-screen crime ("that whole scene where she kills Nate), Mitchell's affection for her show shines through.

As do her years-honed skills for keeping PLL's biggest secrets. While talking about the character Mona, Mitchell has a slip of the tongue, noting how actor Janel Parrish has "played more characters" than any of the other cast members — say what?! But she's quick to correct herself, saying that she only meant Parrish has played "more different sides" of her character than the other cast members (right...). Whether it was a simple mistake or a telling Freudian slip is for fans to decide, but it's clear that the lessons Mitchell has learned from PLL — and the memories she's made — will stay with her long after the show ends.

Images: Freeform