Byron Montgomery



Byron Montgomery is Aria and Mike's father and the husband of Ella. He is also a professor at Hollis College. Byron had an affair with one of his students, Meredith Sorenson, a year before, leading him to separate from his wife upon her finding out a year later. He is forced to contend with tending after his children with Ella not there to help.

Season 1
Aria and Alison were aware of Byron's infidelity at the time, since they saw him and Meredith in the back of a car, but Ella was not. In an awful parenting move, Byron forced Aria to keep his extramarital affair a secret from the rest of the family.

After Alison's disappearance, Byron and his family had gone on a sabbatical. When they return, Aria becomes suspicious that he is seeing Meredith again. Things are made worse when Meredith befriends an unsuspecting Ella. Ella eventually finds out about Bryon's affair from a letter by "A". Bryon and Ella have a large fight on who should move out of the house, as both need some space. In the end, Ella moves out into an apartment above her art studio.

Bryon manages the finances and kid's schedule to a large amount of difficulty. Many episodes show him ordering take-out or handling all the bills of the house. Many times, he asks Aria to take Mike to lacrosse practice or other school activities. Although, to be fair, Ella asks Aria to pick her brother up from playing basketball in Blind Dates. In The Perfect Storm, he becomes chummy with Ashley and comes over to use her toaster when his electricity fails. He also comes to use her fax in order to send out Mike's permission slip, which is due that day. There, he unloads his difficulty with meeting the challenges of being a single parent, and Ashley empathizes. Their relationship could have romantic potential, but it seems mostly friendly.

After Ashley takes money from Mrs. Potter's safe deposit box, Byron approaches her in her car asking her for a ride home. She curtly turns him down, claiming that she is in a rush, but the real reason becomes apparent when the big, open duffel full of money rolls comes into view.

Later, in "If At First You Don't Succeed, Lie, Lie Again", when Ella's car breaks down, thanks to Caleb's messing with it, Ella is frustrated and calls Byron, since she cannot call AAA, as all their points are used up. The encounter threatens to lead to a fight until Byron offers her a ride. He drives her all the way to the gallery, but by the time they arrive, their relationship has been so much improved that Ella opts for a date with her husband instead.

In "The New Normal", Ella shares with Byron her positive opinion of Mr. Fitz, given his professional response to the Mr. McCuller's fiasco. As a result, despite that things are starting to pick up with the two, Byron begins to jealously suspects Mr. Fitz of wooing his wife. He therefore misinterprets Ella's plans to attend a book event with Ezra, not realizing that the invitation is not exclusive; it includes the other English teachers as well.

At his parent-teacher meeting for Aria, he is judgmental and cold towards a confused Ezra, a fact that Aria is even more bewildered about. In an attempt to have her father appreciate her secret boyfriend, she argues with her father about his opinion. It is only when Aria fills him in on the fact that Ella's date with Ezra is not exclusive to her that he stops suspecting that Ella has a crush on Ezra. He softens, and feeling regret, calls Mr. Fitz to go out for drinks and talk. There, they discuss Aria again, and Byron is so nice he even encourages Ezra to spend more time on his work and less time on teaching by considering a position as a college professor.

With the Ezra jealousy component no longer a concern, Ella's and Byron's relationship starts repairing itself, but Ella is reluctant to share the good news with her children, for fear of letting them think that everything is completely better, when she is not sure how she feels exactly. So, one night Byron sneaks out of the house to meet Ella without telling the children, having agreed to keep things under wraps for now. Aria, terrified that her father is having an extramarital affair again, follows him, only to find her parents having an intra marital affair!

In "Someone to Watch Over Me", when Byron learns that Aria has a secret relationship with a boy, he becomes insecure, leading him to pry in Aria's room, almost outing the truth, but Ella stops him in an argument, overheard by Mike, their son. They disagree as to whether it's ever okay to search your children's room behind their backs. Aria and Mike had agreed to make dinner for the parents as a way to a family date night, but due to the argument, Ella cancels, leaving the three to eat dinner alone.

In "For Whom the Bell Tolls", Byron hosts a faculty mixer at his home for his fellow Hollis faculty. Jackie attends, much to Aria's chagrin.

Season 2
Ella moves back in with Byron, and Byron is relieved of some of the recent parenting stress. He is somewhat concerned about his son's, Mike, recent behavior, but doesn't make much of it when Aria falsely denies noticing it.

After Mike's arrest, Ella and Byron have two different approaches to dealing with their son. Ella wants to give Mike space until he is open to talking, but Byron calls for a tougher approach, wanting to force him to return to school. After seeing Mike sleeping in his room with the door locked, Byron privately reveals to Ella later that Mike had reminded him of his brother Scott, when he was younger, before his life fell apart. Ella rejects the comparison, but Byron seems shaken.