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 earlier, 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. He and Ella get back together and then have new issues to deal with during Season 2 involving their children.

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 big fight about 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 kids' schedules with some 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 her open purse stuffed with cash 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. McCullers 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.

In "I Must Confess," Byron is keen on medication as treatment for his son's depression, but Ella insists on verbal therapy, leaving the two at an impasse.

In the prequel episode, "The First Secret," Aria visits her father's office at Hollis College. She is about to leave a note for her father, when she sees Meredith lying on the couch of her father's office, lazily reading a book. When Byron returns to his office, he expresses his surprise at seeing Meredith there, but acts coolly. Aria attributes Meredith's presence in his office to her father being so cool in the eyes of his students, and Byron plays along.

Later, Aria and Alison discover Byron and Meredith making out in his car, showing that the discovery had been made just before Halloween. Byron is all smiles until he spots his daughter and her crestfallen face. When Aria returns home, Byron tells her that he tried to call her all day, though she hadn't picked up for obvious reasons. Ella and Mike are not home, probably because Byron had wanted to prevent Aria from informing her mother before he could convince her not to. He anounces that Meredith is dropping his class, implying that their relationship is ending. He then asks Aria to lie about it to her mother, because it’s over now, and telling her would make it worse. “I don’t think I can ever forgive you,” Aria squeaks. In turn, Byron has the decency to tell Aria that he respects whatever decision she ultimately make, though he obviously doesn't want her to tell Ella. Aria starts crying in her room, and Byron stands in the doorway, crying silent tears himself.

In "Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares," Byron visits Ezra in his office. He suggests they combine their English classes one day to view a film. Ezra likes the idea. Byron also says they should finish the dinner they started (in Surface Tension) and also the bottle of scotch Ezra brought. He gets a text and mentions how he has had to deal with so many lawyers lately, referring to Aria's arrest. Ezra is sympathetic and asks how things have been. He says he knows Aria well enough to know that Aria would never hurt Ella or Byron on purpose. Byron says no one ever starts out intending to hurt anyone.

The next day, Ezra Fitz stands in the Montgomery's living room and confesses to being in love with his daughter. Byron and Ella are shocked and angry. Byron orders Ezra to leave. Mike, who is standing nearby, steps in and hits Ezra, in an effort to prevent Byron from doing it first.

Ella and Byron discuss what just transpired. Byron accuses Ella of knowing about this. She explains she thought she knew about Ezra and Spencer Hastings, but never gave him the chance to deny it. Byron declares the man is finished and Ella supposes he is right, but they have to consider what Aria may have been thinking when she got involved with Ezra, at a confusing time when she was still keeping the secret of her father's affair. Aria comes downstairs and asks them not to make a decision tonight, to consider for a moment that their relationship is real. They don't seem to accept this possibility and send her back upstairs.

In "A Hot Piece of A," Byron sees Aria in the hall and insists she change her clothes. He says they are inappropriate for school. Incredulous, Aria asks since when has she had a dress code. Byron responds since they have learned who she may be dressing for. Ella steps in before a full blown argument can erupt.

Byron knocks on Ezra's door that evening. He enters and remarks that he and Ella went to a party in this building years ago. He tells Ezra he knows navigating certain student-teacher relationships can be tricky and admits to making his own bad choices, pointing out that they were not with a minor. He asks for Ezra's word that he will not see Aria again, but Ezra doesn't give it to him. Instead he thanks him for helping him get the job at Hollis which enabled him to continue his relationship with Aria. Byron spies the rumpled sheets on Ezra's bed behind him and asks if he and Aria spend time at his apartment. Byron's demeanor changes from business-like to angry. Before Ezra can answer, Byron threatens him about going to the police and leaves.

Ella and Byron argue over what to do about the situation with Aria and Ezra. She wishes he hadn't gone to speak with him without her. She tells Byron that they cannot go to the police, much as they would like to, because it would ruin Aria's reputation. She is already considered a liar by many in town after the bell-tower incident and the recent arrest. They have to do whatever they can to protect their daughter. Byron can't argue with that.

Byron walks with Ella and Aria toward a restaurant in town for dinner, but stop short when they see Ezra through the window dining alone. Byron insists they go somewhere else, calling out to Aria that they are leaving, then bickers with Ella about their earlier conversation. They make plans for them all to have dinner one day soon so Holden and Aria can catch up.