Patrick J. Adams 'Put in the Work' to Score a Cameo onPretty Little LiarsSo He Could Win Back Troian Bellisario

Mar. 15, 2025

J. Adams and Troian Bellisario arrive as Vanity Fair and Amazon MGM Studios celebrate Awards Season 2025 at Chateau Marmont’s Bar Marmont on January 04, 202.Photo:Phillip Faraone/Getty

Phillip Faraone/Getty

There was far more than met the eye whenPatrick J. Adamsmade a cameo onPretty Little Liars.

“It was the first season ofPretty Little Liars, and we actually broke up. I broke up with him,” Bellisario, 39, recalled. “And, like, the morning after we broke up, he got the audition for something forPretty Little Liars, and he knew Gail Pillsbury, our casting director, and he prepared the crap out of it and went in and… did the audition, and Gail was like, ‘You’re amazing. I love you.'”

“And he was like, ‘Okay, but, like, I really want this role.’ And then he called his agents at the time and they were like, ‘Okay. Like, you’re coming in really hot for, like, an ABC Family, like, guest star role. Like, I don’t understand.'”

His agents were more focused on trying to get Adams on his “own show” at the time, but he doubled down on his desire to land the part inPLL— and he got it.

Patrick J. Adams, Ian Harding on ‘Pretty Little Liars’.Adam Rose/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty

Adam Rose/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty

He immediately called Bellisario with the news. “He was like, ‘Okay, well, I know that we just broke up, but I’m gonna be at your table read and I’m gonna be on your set. So, you know, we should probably talk.’ And then we fully talked — which I think you know what that means — and got back together.”

The best part, though, was that Adams “wasn’t even at the table read” and he and Bellisario “never shot the same day” on the show.

“But it is a hilarious part of our history,” she said of her husband of eight years, with whom sheshares daughters Aurora, 6, and Elliot, 3. “He put in the work.”

Patrick J. Adams and Troian Bellisario at the 81st Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 7, 2024.Michael Buckner/Golden Globes 2024/Golden Globes 2024 via Gett

Michael Buckner/Golden Globes 2024/Golden Globes 2024 via Gett

In the brief role, Adams played a college friend of Ezra’s (Ian Harding) on an episode of season 1. Bellisario later returned the favor asshe made an appearance on two episodes of season 4 ofSuitsalongside her then-fiancé. She played a law student and intern at an immigration law firm who caught the eye of Adams’ Mike Ross, and first appeared in a flashback before starring in a full episode.

At the time,she told PEOPLE it was a “blast” to be onscreen with Adams, who hadproposed to her the year before.

“It’s just always so much fun to get to play around with your partner, because you have so much in life to draw on, and you have so much trust. When he tells me that something isn’t working in a scene, I trust him to the end of the earth.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Plus, theSuitsset was a familiar one for her after four years. “I’m usually there kind of hanging around, getting Patrick snacks, so it’s really fun for me to have something to do.”

source: people.com