Sean Ackard

Sean Ackard is Hanna's ex-boyfriend and the son of a minister and a dentist. Hanna had a crush on him since 7th Grade, which Alison constantly taunted her about. Sean was originally Hanna's crush before Alison disappeared, back when Hanna was still "Hefty Hanna." They began dating at some point after Alison's disappearance. Hanna is angered and embarrassed at Sean's refusal to have sex with her (she thinks he still sees her as hefty Hanna), so he reveals that he is a member of the Virginity Club RLW, "Real Love Waits," which he joined due to his deep religious convictions. Hanna and Sean eventually get back together, but with "A|A's" interference involving Lucas, nothing is ever the same with them, leading them both to move on romantically.

Season 1
The Jenna Thing

Sean is first seen at school when Hanna goes over to meet him after talking with Mona Vanderwaal.

Sean goes over to Hanna's; the two sit down to study, but Hanna has other things on her mind. She refills Sean's drink and starts necking him, but he resists her moves as much as possible. Frustrated, she sits down and asks him if he likes her as more than a friend. He replies in the affirmative and kisses her on the lips. Basically, Hanna has come to an impasse with him on when to lose their virginity, because of his religious beliefs. Just then, Ashley walks through the door, chatting with Sean, who she clearly approves of, telling him to send regrets to his father, the minister, for their frequent absence at church. Then, Darren enters with takeout for dinner; Hanna is totally annoyed, and Sean is asked to leave.

To Kill a Mocking Girl

Sean is seen walking up to Hanna and Mona with Noel. They tells the girls that Noel's parents are going to be out of down so the biggest party of the year is officially on. Sean kisses Hanna and tells her that he has to go.

Later, Hanna flashbacks to the time in her chubby days when she asked Sean out to a party; he had accepted along with added pressure from Alison. It is unclear whether he would have accepted without Alison's interference.

Later, Hanna feels ignored by Sean at Noel's cabin party. He plays foosball with his friends for most of the night until Hanna practically drags him to a secluded place to make out. In a private cabin room, Sean and Hanna kiss steamily. Hanna starts rummaging through her purse for a condom, but when Sean catches sight of it, he gets up, and the two start arguing. Sean says he doesn't want to have sex with her and says Hanna is desperate to prove something. Hanna is totally hurt and turns away. Sean tries to comfort her by giving her his jacket, but she snaps at him, not wanting him to see her tears. He leaves, and she falls to the floor crying. Later, she sulkily goes back to the foosball table, where Sean is again at it with his friends. A text from "A" then sends her off the deep end; In her misery, she crashes his car in the woods nearby.

Reality Bites Me As a penance for crashing Sean’s car, Hanna is forced to take a filing job in his mom’s dental office working with kids. On her way from work, her shopping bag containing her uniform breaks, and at that moment, she bumps into Sean. Sean lets Hanna know that he tried to take the blame for the car, but Hanna owns up to it herself. She brings up going with him to homecoming, and he says he'll think about it. Just then, a blonde cheerleader picks up Sean to drive him to school.

After bumping into Sean on her way to his mother's office, Hanna finds out that Amber is not Sean's love interest; she is a fellow subscriber to "Real Love Waits." Sean expresses to her that he never meant to let her down; he's just serious about his abstinence pledge. So, Hanna decides to keep close tabs on Sean by joining his abstinence club in order to spend time with him.

There's No Place Like Homecoming

Then, at the meeting in school, the members are asked to role play situations in which they would be pressured to have sex. Sean and Amber pair off, with Sean convincingly acting the part of the instigator who wants to go all the way with Amber, and Amber refuses accordingly. Hanna is called to take a turn - with Lucas. Unenthusiastic, she pretends to ask Lucas to make out, and after initially refusing to play along, he then says "yes," making Hanna finally smile and Sean see red.

At the school homecoming dance, Hanna is elected homecoming queen, along with Sean who is elected homecoming king, but Hanna stands him up, not getting crowned on stage with Sean. Sean is photographed standing alone, feeling rejected. Then Aria volunteers to keep Sean occupied on the dance floor while Hanna is out, but unwittingly sends the newly-crowned Homecoming King mixed signals.

The Homecoming Hangover

The next day, Sean thanks Aria by sending over flowers. In school, Lucas takes several photos of the two the next day, (perhaps purposely) annoying Sean with his suggestions, such as to have Hanna pose sitting on his lap. The shoot ends with a big fight between Hanna and Sean, who is totally offended that Hanna made a big deal of taking him to homecoming only to ignore him. He then tries to pursue Aria, who won't allow him to use her as revenge on Hanna. She reminds him how much Hanna loves him, and Sean softens. At that moment, Mike and another guy come barreling through the hallway in a fist fight. Sean helps break it up and scolds Mike for pushing his sister away. Later, Sean visits Hanna's home to make up, but when they're hanging out, Sean finds Hanna's choice of videos stupid, while Lucas had thought they were funny, sharing Hanna's sense of humor. They are back together, but not completely connecting.

Please, Do Talk About Me When I'm Gone

Hanna double dates Sean along with Aria and Noel. The four hang out over dinner at Hanna's house.

Moments Later

Sean visits Hanna at the hospital while she's sleeping. When Aria sees Noel, she asks him where he was the night of Hanna's accident, and he claims that he was with Sean. When Lucas visits Hanna at the hospital, he tells her that she deserves a better boyfriend, but Hanna replies that that is between her and Sean.

Salt Meets Wound

Hanna and Sean are telling a story about skiing at Hanna's home party when Lucas interrupts to pick a fight with Sean by calling him a Saint Bernard. Lucas is clearly still upset from Hanna refusing to be more than friends and makes a big scene. When Sean finally gets mad, Noel stops him. Hanna requests an audience with Lucas outside. She tells him not to pick a fight with Sean when he's really mad at her. Lucas says not everything is about her. Later, back at the party, Hanna brings up her suspicious feelings about Noel to Sean, who just wants to party. Hanna's not really in the party mood, though.

Careful What U Wish 4

Hanna tries to get a job to alleviate the Marins' financial strife. She asks Sean if she can work for his motheras a dental assistant again, but Sean says no, because last time she threatened a kid with a drill bit for aiming his spit at her. Sean is suspicious of why she needs money and can't get it from her mother, so she makes up an excuse about wanting to save up for some expensive earrings. Now driving a functioning car, Sean drives Hanna around to look for jobs, though to no avail.

At the dance marathon, Hanna is dancing with Sean. However, after being fed texts by "A" telling her to dance with Lucas for her money back, Hanna tells Sean that she should dance with poor, lonely Lucas, who reminds her so much of herself in her own dork days. Sean is not happy, and claims that Hanna was different from Lucas, because she was sweet, while Lucas seems deserving of a beating. He then tells her if she wants to perform charity she should save a whale... But Sean leaves, and Hanna convinces Lucas to dance with her.

Hanna then leaves Lucas on the dance floor when an angered Sean confronts Hanna about the fact that "one dance" with Lucas has turned into five. Sean is unforgiving of Hanna's unceremonious treatment of him and asks Hanna if she brought him to the dance just to diss him. Hanna then gets a text from "A" upping her payrate to $500 a dance. Any chance of Hanna dancing with Sean again that night is now gone. She returns for another dance with Lucas, discreetly crying on his shoulder as they sway.

Someone to Watch Over Me

Sean appears many episodes after both he and Hanna have moved onto other romantic relationships. Sean asks out Paige (unaware that she's gay), and she says yes, much to Emily's dismay. The two are witnessed eating lunch together in the cafeteria, and Hanna, oblivious to Paige's questioning sexuality, expresses how happy she is for the two.

Awkwardly, Sean approaches Emily to ask if Paige is single, thinking that the two swim mates are friends. Emily makes it seem as if the two are distant, but lets Sean know that Hanna was happy for him. Sean is very happy and grateful to hear this. Later, Emily overhears Paige and a friend talking in the bathroom, bragging about winning over Sean and breaking him out of his shell. Emily questions Paige about it, who acts like her upcoming date with Sean is normal. That night, after the date, Paige visits Emily. She shares the details of the date and expresses how fake dating Sean felt; it pushed her to admit to herself that she is gay.

Season 4
In "Bite Your Tongue," he is mentioned at the dentist office by Dr. Sandy to Hanna as to how he is doing. Hanna admits she feels bad that they fell out of touch. He had gone to boarding school after Season 1.

Book Comparisons

 * In the books, Sean dates Aria, whereas in the show, this never happens.
 * In the books, Hanna and Sean break up after Noel Kahn's party, whereas in the show, they remain together after the party, and break up at the dance-a-thon.
 * Sean dates Kate in the books while in the TV Series he has no interaction with her.

Appearances (9/120)
Season 1 (9/22)
 * The Jenna Thing
 * To Kill a Mocking Girl
 * Reality Bites Me
 * There's No Place Like Homecoming
 * The Homecoming Hangover
 * Please, Do Talk About Me When I'm Gone
 * Salt Meets Wound
 * Careful What U Wish 4
 * Someone to Watch Over Me