'Pretty Little Liars' star Troian Bellisario on Covers for Seventeen Magazine February 2014

 

On screen she plays book-smart badass Spencer Hastings, but Pretty Little Liars star Troian Bellisario is ready to shed her picture perfect exterior in a candid interview with Seventeen. The 28-year-old opened up in the magazine's February issue, sharing details on her painful past and even some of her present-day struggles. 

“I started self-harming when I was a junior," Bellisario admitted to Seventeen.

"I would withhold food or withhold going out with my friends, based on how well I did that day in school.…I didn’t know what was right and what was wrong, so I think I created this bizarre system of checks and balances to create order in my world. But it really backfired.”

The actress who has been appearing on the hit ABC Family drama since it premiered in 2010, but admits she still struggles with remaining true to herself.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m trying too hard, like I don’t belong," she admitted. 

"I just look around at Lucy [Hale], Shay [Mitchell], and Ashley [Benson], and I’m just like, 'Why am I on this show?' Sometimes I’ve felt like a fraud. Like, I’m not like these other girls – I don’t dress like that and don’t know how to do my hair. The minute I’m off that stage, I try to get as 'me' as possible. I do that by piling on my black eyeliner, and I put on my ripped tights. Dressing like myself again helps.”

One thing that helps Bellisario is her close friend and onscreen love interest Keegan Allen. The California native recently gushed to Us Weekly about locking lips with her good friend, 24, on screen. 

"Making out with Keegan is like talking at this point," she said. 

"It's like being in a long-term relationship. We can read each other." 

In real life, Bellisario has been dating Suits star Patrick J. Adams, 32, for three years. 

"Patrick and I always have different adventures planned," she told Us of her long-distance relationship. "A lot of air miles…You make it work!"