‘Pretty Little Liars’ Alum Shay Mitchell Expecting First Child 5 Months After Miscarriage

Former Pretty Little Liars star Shay Mitchell announced Friday she is expecting her first child with boyfriend and fellow Canuck, Matte Babel in a YouTube video shared to her official account. The news comes five months after the 32-year-old admitted to suffering a miscarriage.

Mitchell broke the news with a video chronicling her preparing for a photo shoot to show off her baby bump. Mitchell posted one of the topless photos on Instagram, along with the caption, “Does this mean I’m allowed to drive in the car pool lane at all times now?”

“There is something in the oven and it’s not my pizza!!! WOW… It’s kind of surreal processing the fact that another human is growing inside of you,” Mitchell wrote in the description of her YouTube video. “It’s exciting, nerve-racking, difficult and emotional all at the same time. Everyone waits for the right time to make the announcement and for me it wasn’t until I couldn’t hide it anymore and was tired of wearing over sized sweatshirts.”

Mitchell added, “We’re beyond excited and looking forward to starting a family. I’ve learned so much about myself and parenthood over the past 6 months, and feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface! It’s going to be a wild ride!!”

In January, Mitchell revealed she suffered a miscarriage at some point last year. She shared a sonogram on her Instagram Story, adding a broken heart emoji in the post.

“We all have to deal with various struggles and challenges in life. And sometimes it’s easier to only showcase the good times on social media, which is what leads many people to criticize it for its lack of authenticity,” Mitchell wrote in a text post. “Having so many people follow me on Instagram and read my posts is both incredibly humbling and hugely uplifting. The support and affection that so many of you show me lifts me up during even my darkest days, one of which happened last year after I miscarried and lost the child of my hopes and dreams.”

Mitchell went on to ask fans to remember that “we seldom really know or understand the struggles and hardships that other people are going through” and asked everyone to “try to be a little more compassionate, empathetic, patient and thoughtful with each other” in 2019.

Mitchell starred as Emily Fields on Pretty Little Lairs and has since gained a huge following on Instagram thanks to her travel photography. She has 3.7 million followers on YouTube and 24.4 million followers on Instagram. Mitchell also launched the BÉIS brand, which features travel luggage, bags and accessories.

Mitchell also stars as Peach Salinger in You, which is now available to stream on Netflix.

Photo credit: YouTube/Shay Mitchell