The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of
Aria Montgomery, one of the protagonists of the series.
Family •
Byron Montgomery (
Chad Lowe) (seasons 1–7) is Aria's father and a history professor at Hollis College. He asked Aria to keep his affair with a student, Meredith, a secret after Aria witnessed them kissing. Regretting the affair and wanting them to be a family again, Byron moves the family to Iceland for a year as a sabbatical. The relationship between Byron and Ella becomes strained after A sends her a letter revealing Byron's affair. After spending some time apart, Ella and Byron slowly begin to rebuild their relationship. When Mike becomes depressed, Byron reveals that his brother Scott, who committed suicide, also suffered from mental illness; Byron feels guilty for not doing anything to help his brother. Byron finds out that Ezra is involved in a relationship with Aria after they tell him and Ella and is furious about it. In an effort to get Ezra away from Aria, Byron recommends him for a job in New Orleans. He also plots to send Aria to an all girls boarding school in Vermont. When Aria threatens to reveal his affair to his boss, he backs off from her but gets Ezra fired from Hollis. In season 3, Byron and Ella have divorced and Ella has moved out of the house. Byron starts seeing Meredith again. He informs Aria that Meredith got a job at Rosewood High, were Aria attends and Ella teaches. In the Halloween episode, it is revealed by Garrett that Byron may have seen Alison on the night she died. Alison told him,"you know what I'm capable of!" •
Ella Montgomery (
Holly Marie Combs) (seasons 1–7) is Aria's mother, as well as a teacher at Rosewood High. Ella believes in treating her children as friends, not as property. She has mentioned that she doesn't want to push into Aria's private life, and she thinks that Aria should be allowed to keep secrets. Ella was unaware of her husband's affair with a student until "A" sent her a letter. After asking Byron to move out, and his refusal, she left the home. Eventually, Aria found out her parents were secretly getting back together, and Ella decides to move back in. When her son, Mike, is depressed, she doesn't feel he needs medication, and remains somewhat in denial about his illness. She finally receives her wake-up call when he attacks her in his bedroom. When Ella found out Aria was dating Ezra, she was angry, but she believed Aria when she said she had broken it off, and tried to win her back her freedom, which Byron didn't think she deserved. Later, she finds out that Aria and Ezra are still together, and decides she is going to try to understand their relationship. Ella is aware of A, and tries to send Aria to a boarding school to get away. Aria is furious, and blackmails her mother into not going through with it. Ella tearfully tells Aria how ashamed she is, and how she doesn't know how to save their relationship. In season 3, she and Byron have divorced and Ella tries to move on with her life not knowing how. Aria creates a profile for her on a dating website under the nickname "Hot Mamma." Ella is furious at Aria but later she likes the idea and starts dating again. She befriends and starts dating the owner of the brew who is much younger than her. In season 4, she leaves Rosewood so she can go live with her boyfriend in Europe but returns at the end of season 4. •
Mike Montgomery (
Cody Christian) (seasons 1–2, 4–6) is Aria's younger brother. A lacrosse player, he suffers from a mental illness, which causes him to burst into fits of anger and later leads him to break into people's houses for fun, before he begins to shut down emotionally and withdraw completely from his family. He blames Aria for the trouble between their parents. Mike accidentally discovered that Jenna and Garrett knew each other when he stole a pot made by Jenna from Garrett's house. Mike reveals to Aria that the only reason he punched Ezra was because after Ezra and Aria announced they are a couple, he feared what Byron would have done to hurt Ezra judging by the look on his face and thought, "better I do it, than him." Throughout the rest of the series he appears to have improved after going to a therapist. It does not tell when or if he was still seeing his therapist. He seemed to forgive Aria and their relationship is better. He stopped being rebellious and more focused of his family's problems and helping them out. He is dating Mona Vanderwaal.
Friends •
Holden Strauss (
Shane Coffey) (seasons 2–3, 7) is a childhood friend of Aria's who returns with his family from a year abroad in Portugal in the middle of Season 2. He asks Aria out on a date, and discovers that she only agreed so she could get out of the house unsupervised and try to meet Ezra. Instead of becoming upset, he suggest that they continue the cover, though he remains secretive about what he does during their fake dates. We later find out that his secret is more serious than it seemed at first when he accidentally reveals a very large bruise on his stomach, but he tells Aria not to worry about it. He eventually tells her that he is doing Tae Kwan Do, a Korean martial art, and that his parents forbid him to keep training, that is why he needs a cover. The situation turns out to be more complicated, though, when Ella tells Aria that Holden has a heart condition that could kill him any time. Aria goes to watch one of Holden's fights and she sees how much he loves to fight. In the sixth episode in season 3, he attends the same church party as Hanna and when Emily arrives, he runs into her and sparks a conversation. When he grabs a cupcake his wrist is exposed revealing a stamp from that night and Noel Kahn's party. •
Clark Wilkins (
Titus Makin Jr.) (season 6) is a friend of Aria's whom she met in a photography class at Hollis. Clark is later revealed to be an undercover cop, hired to protect Aria. •
Big Rhonda (Ambrit Millhouse) (season 5) is a patient at Radley Sanitarium that Aria befriends whilst volunteering in an art class. Rhonda tells Aria that she knew Bethany Young, and that Bethany was occasionally visited by Jessica DiLaurentis.
Relationships •
Ezra Fitz (Fitzgerald) (
Ian Harding) (seasons 1–7) is a former English teacher at Rosewood High School and later teaches at Hollis College. He became romantically involved with Aria after the two met at a bar and instantly bonded. When he discovered that Aria was his student, he attempted to break things off, but found himself unable to do so. He broke up with Aria for a little while in order to take time to think about their relationship. He quit his teaching position at Rosewood just before Noel threatened to expose Aria and Ezra's relationship. Ezra later explains to Aria that he was engaged to a girl named Jackie when he was in college, but that she broke it off; Jackie later returns to Rosewood after getting a teaching position at Hollis. Although Ezra loves Aria, he seems to still have some lingering feelings for Jackie, and the two remain close. His relationship with Aria is often strained by the fact that they have to hide that they are together. He confesses to Ella that he loves Aria (though she misunderstands and believes he is talking about Spencer) when he comes to comfort Aria after her arrest. In "Through Many Danger, Toils, and Snares" we find out that Aria broke up with Ezra because of Jackie threatening to expose their relationship but they later get back together after Aria explains to Ezra that Jackie was the reason why she broke up with him. Ezra and Aria later tell Byron and Ella that they are a couple which leads him to getting punched by Mike (though it's told he only did it fearing what Byron what would have done instead). Ezra later tells Jackie, who comes into his office trying to convince him it'll never work out for him and Aria due to age difference and the fact she's still a teenager, to get out of his office, saying he will not let her do anything to harm or hurt Aria ever again and that he wants nothing more to do with Jackie herself. Aria continues to attempt to convince her parents to allow her to date Ezra but in the meantime they try to set her up with someone else. When Aria calls Ezra, he tells her not to call him again. The two later rekindle their relationship when Aria leaves him a voice mail telling Ezra that, if he doesn't meet up with her, their relationship is over for good. Ezra turns up at the last minute after a student tells him to 'be bold' and the two kiss in the rain. Aria decides not to tell her friends that the two are back together, hoping that, by keeping it from them, she can also keep it from "A". They later have sex in his apartment after Ezra finds out that he has been fired from Hollis. In season 3, Aria and Ezra celebrate their one-year anniversary. Their relationship seems to be going smoothly until Ezra's younger brother Wesley "Wes" drops by unexpectedly. Bumps are soon formed in their relationship when Aria learns of Ezra getting his high school girlfriend Maggie pregnant and his mother paying her to disappear from his life, even though he wanted to do the right thing. Aria tracks Maggie down and discovers that she kept the baby, who is now a healthy 7-year-old boy named Malcolm, whom Ezra finds out about from a distraught Spencer. This leads him to leave Rosewood and seek out Maggie and his son; Ezra is back in Rosewood but only one day after he's back he gets a phone call from Maggie; Mrs. Fitzgerald sold Maggie's condo. Maggie asked Ezra if she and Malcolm can stay in Rosewood near him for a couple of days. Later when Spencer is part of the A-team, she picks up Malcolm from his karate class but is actually kidnapping him. Aria frantically tries to find him and when she does he tells her that Aria's friend Alison picked him up. Ezra gets a job at Rosewood High as a substitute teacher. After all the incidents with Malcolm, Aria decides that it is best that her and Ezra break up just after kissing him on the school stairs. In season four Ezra starts teaching full-time at Rosewood High again. After Aria has a dream that Ezra got arrested because of her she decided they should see other people, something Ezra had already suggested. Ezra would still do anything for Aria, as whenever she is having trouble he still steps up to help her. Ezra finds out Malcolm isn't really his son. In the season four summer finale, the Liars find a lair that they believe belongs to "A" and we see that Ezra is the owner, leading fans to believe him to be "A". However, he reveals in "Free Fall" that he is writing a book about Alison. He is also Board Shorts but is not the guy Alison met with at Cape May known as "Beach Hottie". He is shot by someone in a black hoodie, whom he claims was Shana, in the season four finale but survives and later rekindles his relationship with Aria and begins helping them out with "A". In season 7 Ezra Aria become engaged and get married in the show's finale episode. It is revealed that Aria can't have children so she and Ezra make plans to adopt after their honeymoon. •
Liam Greene (
Roberto Aguire) (season 6–7) was Aria's boyfriend during and after the time-jump. He works with her and encourages her to send Ezra to finish his book. Aria later breaks up with him due to not having feelings for him anymore after sleeping with Ezra. •
Noel Kahn (
Brant Daugherty) (seasons 1–5, 7, and
Pretty Dirty Secrets) is a popular jock and friends with Sean and Mike. He has feelings for Aria and briefly dates her, ending things when he discovers that Aria is seeing Ezra. Noel attempts to blackmail Ezra with this information, but ends up getting framed by "A" (for apparently stealing mid-term exams). After a suspension, he returns to school and becomes somewhat romantically involved with Mona, but eventually breaks up with her and starts dating Jenna. On the security tape Noel sent Spencer it shows that Jenna was dating Noel. It was revealed in the season four finale that Noel is helping Alison. Noel is revealed to be a member of the A-Team in Season 7 and was the person who poured blood on Spencer in the Dollhouse. He returned to Rosewood to begin working with Jenna, as well as Sara Harvey, to find Charlotte's sister, later revealed as Alex Drake. However, Noel kills Sara when she threatens their operation. He and Jenna trap the Liars and attempt to kill them but he ends up accidentally getting decapitated. •
Jake (
Ryan Guzman) (season 4) is a martial arts instructor in Rosewood. Aria begins to take private lessons to help protect herself from "A". During one of the sessions, Aria kisses him and apologizes. But later, they start to hang out more and go on dates. On one of the dates, he learns about Ezra. With time, Aria and Jake's relationship heads to the next level. When Jake meets Ezra for the first time, he tells him to let Aria move on.
Other •
Malcolm Cutler (Flynn Morrison, later
Teo Briones) (season 3–4) is Maggie Cutler's seven-year-old son, with Ezra believed to be the father. It is later revealed that his father is not Ezra, and was conceived after a "mistake" with another man. •
Maggie Cutler (
Larisa Oleynik) (seasons 3–4) is Ezra's ex, who was impregnated by Ezra after high school. She was paid a large sum of money to disappear from Ezra's life and to take care of his unborn child, whom he doesn't know about. In the eleventh episode, Aria pays her a visit at her school, where she reveals that she has a son named Malcolm. In the summer finale, she pays Ezra a visit, leaving Aria out. At the end of the season 4 summer finale, she reveals Malcolm is not Ezra's son. She soon leaves Rosewood with Malcolm to Seattle. •
Dianne Fitzgerald (
Mary Page Keller) (season 3, 7) is the mother of Ezra and Wesley Fitzgerald. She is a rich and ruthless woman. Due to her controlling attitude, she is estranged from Ezra. On Season 7, Dianne returns to Ezra's wedding with Aria. •
Wesley Fitzgerald (
Gregg Sulkin) (season 3) is the brother of Ezra Fitz. Due to his wish to escape the Fitzgerald family, Wesley stays in Ezra's apartment while he is away and helps Aria to find out about Maggie and Malcolm. •
Jackie Molina (Paloma Guzman) (seasons 1–2, 5) is Ezra's ex-fiancée. After getting a teaching job at Hollis, she hints at wanting to reconcile her relationship with Ezra. She discovers that Aria and Ezra are in a relationship, and uses this as leverage when Aria attempts to force her out of Ezra's life by threatening to expose a paper that Jackie plagiarized. Jackie forces Aria to break up with Ezra but the two later get back together and reveal their relationship to her parents when Ezra overhears Jackie threatening Aria. Ezra later tells Jackie to get out of his office when she comes by his office and to stay away from Aria after Jackie makes a comment about his relationship with Aria being "a terrible mistake", and that he wants nothing to do with Jackie again. •
Meredith Sorenson (
Amanda Schull) (seasons 1–3) is a former student at Hollis whom Byron had an affair with. She ignores Aria's pleas for her to stay away from Byron and in an effort to get close to Byron again, attempts to befriend Ella, who was unaware of the affair. In the beginning of season 3, "A" forces Aria to reveal a past secret that Aria and Alison trashed Byron's office and framed Meredith for the crime when Aria believes an earring she found proves that Byron and Meredith were still together after Aria found out about the affair. After the incident Byron did end all ties with Meredith because he felt threatened. But when "A" forces Aria to confess it was her, it gives now divorced Byron and Meredith another chance at a relationship. When Aria is forced to confess and apologize to Meredith, she returns the earring "A" gave her, which was taken from Alison's grave, only to find out the earring is not hers. Meredith became a teacher at Rosewood High. She later was burnt in a fire and led to believe that Aria did it (She's Better Now). In the episode "Misery Loves Company!", when Aria is sick, Meredith plays mom by taking care of her, when in reality she drugs Aria's tea to search her house. After Aria becomes suspicious, Meredith lures Aria down to the basement where she falls and becomes unconscious. When Hanna and Emily check on Aria, they too are tricked down into the basement. Byron finds them and Meredith escapes. It is revealed that Byron didn't kill Alison, even though she was blackmailing him about the affair. •
Simone (
Alona Tal) (season 1) is Aria's former babysitter. She comes back to Rosewood to visit her parents and also to help Ella Montgomery with her English class, where she is asked to be a speaker as an experienced freelance writer. She befriends Ezra Fitz thanks to the suggestion of Ella, much to Aria's chagrin. Simone develops a crush on Ezra, much to Aria's horror. Simone is oblivious to Aria's feelings, and the two have coffee together. After that, Ezra picks up on Aria's envying Simone, who is a talented writer and also age appropriate for Ezra. He admits to enjoying the time spent with her, but assures her that it's nothing more than that. •
Zack (
Steve Talley) (seasons 3–5) is the former owner of The Brew and used to be engaged to Ella Montgomery. ==Acquaintances of Spencer Hastings==