Lindsey Shaw recently recalled going through a rough patch in life, both personally and professionally as she was let go from her role as Paige McCullers in 'Pretty Little Liars' during Season 5 in 2014 due to body and drug issues.
The series has been a big hit since the first season. The character of Paige McCullers was deeply loved by the audience. So, Shaw was eventually brought back in the final, seventh season.
During the latest episode of the Ned's Declassified Podcast Survival Guide, Lindsey spoke up about her relationship with food and drug use that led to her firing on the show and how her personal life and career went downhill after that.
Shaw was called into Marlene King’s (series creator) office, and was told "So, we’re gonna let you go and it’s not because of your acting."
Lindsey shared about her drug problem and it was in between work, she never had to address her relationship with food because she thought "Oh, I could always just go get more Adderall."
She knew what she was going through and was okay with it. "So it was really hard, and I especially, I got basically let go from Pretty Little Liars in season five because of the weight that I had lost, and it was really an embarrassing thing."
"I didn't look good, too skinny and then, you know, then when I started to put the weight back on, I couldn't handle it being too heavy, so it kind of played into this dumb cycle. Whereas now, you know, it's you are, you look like what you look like, you know what I mean?" she continued.
She openly said to have given away everything she cared about. That halt in her career was the biggest mistake of her life. Shaw also said that Caring about your body can make you go in all different directions, from plastic surgery to drugs to withholding to all sorts of stuff.
Shaw continues to be appreciative of the PLL crew for handling her leave "with so much care," both on and off screen. Midway through Season 5, the writers not only created a heartfelt farewell sequence for her character, but Shaw also remembers King asking if she had somebody to talk to about what she was going through. Shaw said that she had no one, to which King responded, "We'll find somebody."
As for that beautiful scene, Shaw remembers that she and co-star Shay Mitchell “couldn’t even talk” between takes while filming Paige and Emily’s airport goodbye. “We just hugged each other and let it be what it was.”
Lindsey mentioned that she will forever appreciate the producers for bringing her back in the final season.
In the end, she concluded by saying that Pretty Little Liars helped her everytime she had a breakdown. The role of Paige McCullers for her was a great, crazy, scary, sad, wonderful yet tragic ride and she watched her own show as a part of her therapy session.