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Turns out Shay Mitchell is a good secret keeper.
Because when the Pretty Little Liars alum revealed she was expecting this June, the general reaction from the public was a collective, “Huh. How about that.” (Mixed with the obvious joy and excitement for the star.) Because not only did most people not have an inkling the actress was pregnant, the more casual of fans might not realize that she was in an awfully serious relationship.
Which was pretty much the point. Mitchell had been dating former VJ Matte Babel the better part of three years at that point. And while they weren’t exactly hiding their romance, making the occasional cameo on each other’s Instagram feeds, they weren’t broadcasting it either.
“As much as I am active on social media,” she noted while revealing her pregnancy in the first episode of their YouTube series Almost Ready. “I still consider myself to be pretty private.”
Back in January 2017, when photos of Babel began popping up on Mitchell’s Snapchat and a source whispered to Entertainment Tonight that she was seeing the then-ET Canada reporter, she insisted she had nothing to hide—”When I am in a relationship and if things get out, then it gets out,” she told FOX411. But she couldn’t help reaching for a pretty little lie.
She and the 39-year-old were pals she insisted, having run in the same Canadian network for quite some time. “We’ve known each other for nine years,” she said. “We knew each other in Toronto. Like Drake and all them, it’s a Toronto crew. We’re really, really awesome friends.”
That much was technically true. Babel, a Wilfrid Laurier University grad, had played professional football in Europe for a spell and had taken the LSATs in preparation for law school when he landed in TV “by fluke,” he said. “I never ever thought about being on TV. It never even crossed my mind.”
But soon he found himself working as a VJ on Canada’s Much Music channel, interviewing the likes of Mariah Carey and Justin Timberlake, working as a correspondent on ET and even appearing in two episodes of Degrassi: The Next Generation. That last gig would connect him with Drake and his assistant Ryan Silverstein, who up until 2014 was also Mitchell’s boyfriend.
But by 2017, that title definitively belonged to Babel, a fact that became more obvious when the Toronto native, who now works for management and entertainment company Dreamcrew, joined Mitchell in New York City for February’s fashion week.
“I, um… I’m having fun, you know,” she stammered to Extra, when asked about her plus-one, though she wasn’t going to get more descriptive than that. “Always private, always,” she said, “always keep them guessing.”
That continued as their raison d’être for the next several years.
While they more or less went Instagram official that April, Babel marking his love’s birthday that year with a kissy face-emoji-laden tribute to “the one who makes me smile”, they weren’t about to become a red carpet-walking, interview-gushing, very online Hollywood pair.
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Happy Birthday to the one who makes me smile and always seems to find the rosé (or Hennessy) – @shaymitchell ?
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After that first birthday shout-out, Mitchell made just two appearances on his Instagram feed in two years (one in which her face was obscured), until the pair revealed their baby news this June.
And though he was a fixture in her popular Shaycation digital series, he wasn’t specifically labeled as a boyfriend, save for one hint in a 2017 interview with Maxim, where she called out her trip to the Greek island of Santorini as her most romantic. “It’s just the tranquility to it. There isn’t a nightlife there; you have dinner, and you go to bed,” she explained. “It kinda just forces you to take it easy. So you better love the person you’re with…”
Good thing she had ever reason to adore Babel.
On paper, the striking former athlete seemed to be her type. While she told Maxim, “I fall in love with the spirit of somebody,” that person must also have the right, self-assured personality.
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Looking back at this recent vacay photo after a 14 hr day while my feet soak in an ice bath… #playhardbutworkingharder
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That meant keeping her burgeoning bump—and thrilling news—under wraps until she was nearly six months along. “With the first pregnancy, I was elated and told everyone at eight weeks,” the 32-year-old explained to blog HATCHland. “However, I wanted to be sure that this second pregnancy would be viable before shouting it from the rooftops, so I hid it for nearly six months and became very anti-social. Usually, I’m incredibly active and outgoing, but instead, I mainly stayed home to avoid stares and questions. I was extremely lonely.”
Which is why she has been so thrilled to document the waning months of her pregnancy and her journey to parenthood with the man she calls her best friend. With their bi-weekly series the formerly private pair have shared ultrasounds, their gender reveal, Mitchell’s stripper-filled baby shower and disagreements over her birth plan, Babel apparently not understanding how crucial an epidural can be.
But even if they’re not seeing eye-to-eye on everything, Mitchell knows they’re ready to welcome their little girl as her pregnancy enters the “any day now” stage. “He still has no idea. I think until that baby comes out and starts crying will it then hit him,” she said in the first episode of Almost Ready. “And then I feel like his role begins. He’s gonna be a great dad. He is so good with kids. He’s just so comfortable. After the pregnancy, I don’t have a worry at all.”
She has one less secret as well.
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