Shay Mitchell Doesn't Get Questions About Kissing Girls Anymore

Shay Mitchell has changed a lot since Pretty Little Liars first started airing back in 2010.

Things have also shifted in terms of how her character Emily is received and embraced.

“It’s also interesting to see the change when I first started the show to now,” Shay told AOL.com. “I don’t get asked that many questions [anymore] that are like, ‘How is it to kiss a girl?’ Those questions aren’t being asked anymore.”

“The impact that it has had — that I’ve seen — has been amazing,” she continued. “Having young girls and boys coming up to me and saying, ‘This is incredible, it’s helped me be able to open up a conversation with my parents or my friends. It’s made it easier, because we’re watching the show in our living room and it just came up more organically [than it otherwise would've].’ I really love that. I always say, ‘It’s one thing to be on an entertaining show, but it’s another to have a small impact on people’s lives.’”

As for her character Emily, Shay said, “She has found her own. At the beginning, Emily was trying to be who she thought her mom or the other girls knew her to be, but she really was this other person. She’s a really strong, independent character, and I think that we got to see that in the end.”

Pictured: Shay looks super chic while running errands on Tuesday (June 6) in New York City.