Lucy Hale admitted that she’s not really open about her dating life — but fans didn’t always know that.
“Because I grew up on [Pretty Little Liars] and in the public eye I put way too much out there, I think,” Hale, 35, said during Us Weekly’s exclusive clip from her interview on Amanda Hirsch‘s “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast, set to be released on Tuesday, March 4. “I’m very open about my personal journey, and that’s been really great. My dating life, that whole side of my life, I don’t think I’ll ever publicly speak about.”
She added, “It’s so funny because there have been people who’ve speculated that I’ve been dating people that I’m not dating. There are other people that I was dating, and in love with, that people never knew about.”
It appears the speculation regarding her love life never bothered Hale, in part because she wanted to “keep some things sacred” in her personal life.
“I recognize what social media has done to my psyche at certain times in my life and caring too much and caring about perception. I have to really be conscious about what I’m revealing,” Hale continued. “But also, I do wear my heart on my sleeve, and I try not to overthink things, so it’s a fine line.”
When it comes to relationship preferences, Hale is a Raya user — and she thinks that a guy who doesn’t have an Instagram account is a green flag.
“Sometimes people will post a pixelated photos and I’m thinking this is such a red flag for me because I was like you don’t even care about the quality of the photo, which like I guess could be kind of sexy,” Hale said, noting that she prefers a more “subdued” profile.
“I’m not swiping for the people that are shirtless and if you’re posting a headshot, forget about it,” she added. Hale also said that her “Achilles heel” is a musician.
“I’m very confused when you post a group photo. Why? Who are you in the photo?” the actress continued, explaining that when a man is holding a child in his dating app photo she wonders if he “comes with baggage.” She went on to explain that a potential date will earn an immediate swipe right if there’s a dog involved, but is not a fan of receiving videos or voice notes.
Hale was most recently rumored to be dating Rob Lowe’s son John Owen Lowe, but they’re nothing more than friends.
“I think you can go to Erewhon with someone and get photographed and things blow out of proportion,” John Owen, 29, said during a July 2024 episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “That’s all I will say.”
The full episode of “Not Skinny But Not Fat” with Lucy Hale drops Tuesday on all podcast platforms and Wednesday on YouTube.
