The Paige McCullers depicter is grateful to the team behind the Freeform teen series and remembers former co-star Shay Mitchell bringing her 'protein powder' during her rough times.
- Jul 6, 2023
AceShowbiz - Lindsey Shaw was dismissed from "Pretty Little Liars" amid her struggles with an eating disorder. The 34-year-old actress began playing Paige McCullers on the mystery series in 2011 but was "let go" from the show in 2017 amid her "dumb cycle" of taking drugs and was able to avoid "addressing" her problem when away from the cameras.
"It was so bad. I got called into Pretty Little Liars' creator's [I. Marlene King] office. And she was just like, 'So we're gonna let you go.' She was like, 'It's not because of your acting, but do you have anybody to talk to?' And I was like, 'No,' you know? she's like, 'Well, find somebody,' and 'We have to let you go now,' " she said on "Ned's Declassified Podcast Survival Guide".
"When I had my problem and I was in between working on stuff, I would never have to address my relationship with food because it was like, I could always just go get more Adderall. It was really an embarrassing thing. I didn't look good too skinny and then when I started to put the weight back on, I couldn't handle being too heavy."
The "10 Things I Hate About You" star went on to add that it was "really sweet of the show bosses to bring her character back for the seventh season on the show to let her "say goodbye" and these days is starting to accept that "professional success" will not compare to the quiet life she enjoys now.
She added, "It was really sweet, because they brought me back in season seven. It was so lovely of that writing team to just see that relationship [between Paige and Emily] and that character out. But it was rough. [Shay and I] went to the same nutritionist for a while. She was bringing me protein powder. She was like, 'Girl.' Yeah, it was awful. They did me so right bringing me back for season seven and just letting me say goodbye. I will never forget that."
"I'm starting to be able to, like, step away from or forgive and appreciate and accept. That was, you know, a wild time, and it kind of brought me here to where I am now. And for better, for worse, whatever happens in the future, like, this is the only life that I can be living. Whatever professional success was in the past, it's not comparing to the Friday nights [where] I can sit and enjoy a movie on the couch now."
