Melissa Hastings is a fictional character in the Pretty Little Liars franchise. Created in 2006 by Sara Shepard for the book series, the character was later reworked by I. Marlene King, the developer of the television series, in which she is portrayed by Torrey DeVitto. An antiheroine, Melissa is sister to protagonist Spencer Hastings, and the daughter of Peter and Veronica Hastings. She is a fierce woman who does everything to succeed in her life goals. In print, she is a guest character, while on screen Melissa has a much bigger presence in the story.
Character in print Melissa has had recurring appearances in most of the Pretty Little Liars novels, starting with the 2006 homonymous book. She also appeared in the 2012 companion novel Pretty Little Secrets. She is the daughter of Peter and Veronica Hastings, sister of Spencer Hastings, and half-sister to the twins Alison and Courtney DiLaurentis, which are the result of an affair her father Peter had with the twins' mother Jessica. Melissa attended high school at Rosewood Day School and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. According to Spencer's description of Melissa, she closely resembles Mrs. Hastings with her chin-length ash blonde hair and blue eyes; Spencer sarcastically described her sister as "a perfect little clone." Melissa has an uptight, simpering personality to match her lack of style.
Relationships Spencer Hastings: Throughout the course of the story, Melissa and Spencer had an incredibly unloving sister relation. The two were rivals for parental attention and success, and Melissa often won the fight, which angered Spencer. The sisters' iterations broke up after a traumatic memory loss Spencer had in their childhood. An armed robber accosted the family during an outing and Spencer, having lost all memory of the experience, was never the same since that day. Their parents apparently worried about her so much that Melissa had to miss several competitions that year. Thus, the rivalry for their parents' attention began. When Melissa finds out that Spencer plagiarized her AP Econ essay and got nominated for the Golden Orchid as a result, she is enraged, and the two get involved in an argument turned violent. Spencer pushes her down the stairs, and she suffers a broken arm. Their parents force them to spend time together at their grandmother's beach house in an attempt to reconcile their relationship, but it only has moderate, short-lived success. At one point Spencer even suspects Melissa of being Alison's killer. After the Poconos house fire, the two reconciled and decided to put their differences aside. Ian Thomas: During their high school years, Ian and Melissa were a couple and she believed that he was her soulmate. After she discovered that Ian and her sister kissed, as well as him and Alison, she still was by his side and never believed that he was guilty of anything. The not-knowing of his whereabouts in the night Alison disappeared jeopardized their relationship. Wren Kingston: Melissa's second serious boyfriend and eventually fiancée. They were planning to move in to the townhouse her parents purchased. While Melissa seemed to love him, Wren didn't seem to feel the same level of affection, which caused him to prefer and kiss Spencer and jeopardize his engagement with Melissa. However, he eventually hooked up again with Melissa, who eventually made sure that he would be out of both of their lives for good. Wren and Spencer later started dating again, with Melissa's blessing. Jason DiLaurentis: The two had a brief casual relationship in which Melissa didn't care for him the way he did for her. As a way to get closer, Ian revealed to Melissa the secret about the DiLaurentis twins and asked for her to keep it a secret between them, which she did. Darren Wilden: Shortly after the fire in the Poconos house, Melissa and Wilden started dating and eventually he proposed to her. Spencer likes Melissa's relationship with Wilden, which strengthened their sister bond.
Storylines
Melissa and Spencer are rivals sisters who compete for their parents' recognition and Melissa appears to be the favored child who can do no wrong. She always seems to one-up Spencer in everything from academic achievements to extracurricular actives. As she is about five-six years older than Spencer, she's essentially accomplished everything Spencer has done in high school. Problems occur when she begins to feel attracted to Melissa's new boyfriend, Wren Kingston, when he is introduced to the family. "A" eventually reveals to Melissa that Spencer is dating. Wren dumps Spencer while he is back hooking up with Melissa, and Melissa eventually dumps him, removing him for her and her sister's life for good. Ian returns from California and starts working as a field hockey coach, in Spencer's team, which allows Melissa to pursue him again. "A" reveals to Melissa that Spencer stole her essay for the Golden Orchid competition, but the family keeps quiet to protect their reputation. Melissa and Spencer grow closer, and Spencer confesses that she kissed Ian, and that he and Alison were secretly dating. Spencer and Melissa's feud continues anyway after Melissa confronts Spencer about seeing Ian behind her back, which Spencer denies. Spencer and Mona eventually start suspecting that Melissa may have killed Alison. Spencer and Mona discover a note from "A" and suspect that Melissa killed Alison because she was jealous of her relationship with Ian. Mona, Spencer and their friends decide to turn Melissa in, but eventually Mona is revealed to be "A" and the girls stop suspecting Melissa.
When Courtney DiLaurentis, Alison's twin sister, returns Melissa immediately has a bad feeling about her. Jason told her everything about the sisters a while ago and none of the stories matched up - Courtney claims that her and Alison were best friends who shared everything whilst Jason says they despised each other and the reason Courtney is in a mental clinic is because she attempted to strangle Alison. Melissa investigates Courtney, but gets too close to the truth and is kidnapped by Courtney. She wakes up bound and gagged in a wardrobe next to Ian's dead body, Courtney didn't have time to kill her then, but she was going to kill her later. The Liars were trapped inside the house by Courtney and discovered that Courtney was in fact Alison, who murdered the real Courtney after a case of mistaken identity. The house is set on fire and the Liars stumble upon Melissa in the wardrobe and free her, they all then manage to escape.
Throughout the rest of the books, Melissa becomes engaged to Darren Wilden and her and Spencer become closer. When Spencer's parents practically abandon her, Melissa supports Spencer throughout her hard time and tries to be a good sister.
Character on screen Casting The Hollywood Reporter noted that Torrey DeVitto and Sasha Pieterse landed recurring roles in the pilot. The Alloy Entertainment website later confirmed that Pieterse would be playing Alison DiLaurentis and DeVitto would portray Melissa Hastings.
Storylines In the show, Melissa's role is much greater and more mysterious. She has been accused of being "A" multiple times, and has held grudges against the Liars, yet has seemingly displayed affectionate and overprotective behavior towards her sister.
Season 1 Melissa is first mentioned in the Pilot by Hanna Marin and her half-sister Spencer Hastings when they meet at the mall. The character makes her first official appearance in the same episode, commending Spencer for her efforts in renovating their barn. Melissa subsequently informs her sister that she alongside her fiancé, Wren Kingston, will be moving into the shed. This announcement angers Spencer because their parents agreed for her to move in instead. Wren later questions his sister-in-law if she's doing okay but Spencer storms out. Kingston proceeds to divulge Melissa that her sister doesn't seem too happy with them moving to the barn, but she assures him she'll get over it. Afterwards, Melissa reappears in a flashback with her ex-boyfriend, Ian Thomas, hanging out at the Hastings residence. Former next-door neighbor Alison DiLaurentis was present in the moment as well. Ali discloses to Melissa that her sister has something to declare, which Spencer abruptly disregards. Melissa and Ian proceed to leave.
During "The Jenna Thing", Melissa, Wren, Peter and Spencer go out to dinner. When Spencer orders a vodka soda, Melissa proclaims the waitress she's joking and simultaneously orders the same drink as their father. In the course of her meal, Melissa proceeds to brag that she already became President of something during her first week in class. Later that night, she passes by Spencer's room and catches her exchanging a kiss with Wren. She sees them through an oval mirror but avoids confrontation. The following morning she calls off the wedding and Wren moves out of the shed.
In "There's No Place Like Homecoming", Spencer steals Melissa's Russian History paper from when she attended high school. The piece impresses Spencer's teacher, who later submits it to an essay contest. Melissa eventually reads it and plans a small vendetta against her sister. She was asked to chaperone Spencer's homecoming dance, and uses the opportunity to drive a wedge between her relationship with Alex. Melissa maliciously states to him that the only reason Spencer agreed to date him was to anger their father. She additionally mocks his economic background and the fact that he works at a club and attends a lesser school than Rosewood High. Alex leaves, and Spencer suspects her sister's hand in it, though she's unaware of what was precisely said. During the homecoming king and queen announcement, Melissa unctuously uses the platform to mention that she was crowned queen when she was a student six years prior. It is revealed through flashbacks that when Melissa dated Ian Thomas, Spencer made out with him once, though Melissa never found out. Later, when Ian returns to Rosewood, Spencer tried mending her relationship with Melissa by setting them up together for coffee. Melissa at first refuses because he broke her heart and she was still getting over Wren, but with Spencer's nudge, she agrees to meet Thomas. One coffee date immediately turns into something more serious as it seems the two have picked up where they left off. This leads to Melissa making peace with her sister, causing them to grow closer and behave kindly towards one another.
Melissa and Spencer's sisterly bond remains steady when Melissa comforts her after Hanna is admitted to the hospital after getting hit by a car, during "Moments Later". Later at the Hastings residence, Ian invites Aria Montgomery and Spencer outside to drink a toast of champagne. Spencer demands Thomas an explanation as to what they were celebrating and why he had canceled varsity practice that day. Ian admits he and Melissa have eloped!
In "Know Your Frenemies", Melissa and Ian return from their honeymoon. The episode opens in the midst of the night with the two of them whispering about a secret. A few days afterwards, Melissa returns from shopping, and drops a bag. Spencer picks it up, discovering an ovulation test. Melissa confesses to sister that she is trying to start a family. Ian overhears and seems a bit unhappy, stating they "planned to keep it a secret." Melissa assures her husband that Spencer is capable of withholding information. Thomas replies, "I know she can", alluding to the fact that Melissa is still in the dark about the kiss that occurred between her husband and sister.