As Pretty Little Liars comes to an end this year, viewers will likely see Aria Montgomery and Ezra Fitz get married. They got engaged in season 7A, and eagle-eyed fans spotted actress Lucy Hale wearing what appears to be a wedding veil in a behind-the-scenes shot. It looks like Ezria is heading toward a happily-ever-after ending, but it's worth remembering that they've been a problematic couple since the start. Their relationship represents a troubling trend on TV: hypersexualized teens dating fully-grown adults.

If you need a refresher, the show's first episode features Aria (16) and Ezra (23) hooking up in a bar bathroom. Cut to the first day of school, when Aria shows up to English class and finds that Ezra is her teacher. It gets worse a few seasons later, when it's revealed that Ezra knew how young Aria was from the start. He knew she was a teenager, pursued an illegal relationship with her, and then lied to her about his intentions.

Aria is just 16 when the show begins, and while the show tries to play off their relationship as sweet instead of creepy, it shouldn't.

You might think that some people would find a teenage girl hooking up with her English teacher to be problematic, but no. Ian Harding, who portrays Ezra, revealed that advertisers had more issue with the fact that Emily is gay than with the illegal relationship between Aria and Ezra.

"One company dropped its advertising for our show in one of the early seasons, because they didn't agree with the relationship," Ian told Cosmopolitan.com. "And I was like, 'No shit, our relationship is illegal!' And [showrunner I.] Marlene [King] said, 'No, it's not yours, it's Emily's relationship [that's the problem],'" referring to the fact that Emily is gay.

An adult having sex with a minor is illegal. And Ezra and Aria's relationship isn't the only inappropriate age pairing featured on the series. Take a look:

Ezra (23) and Aria (16) — he was her teacher

Ezra (22) and Alison (15) — she lied; he thought she was older

Ian (20s) and Spencer (16) — he was married to Spencer's sister Melissa

Wren (20s) and Spencer (16) — he was once engaged to Melissa

Wren (20s) and Hanna (16) — one of the more innocent relationships on the show, if you can believe it

Detective Wilden (30s) and Alison (15) — not only was he old enough to have an affair with Hanna's mom, he should've known better than to hook up with Alison — he's a police officer

Garrett (20s) and Jenna (16) — another creepy police officer that should have known better than to get involved with a teen girl

Jason (20s) and Aria (16) — almost as problematic as Aria's relationship with Ezra, but no one framed it that way on the show

And the problem isn't just confined to Rosewood. On Famous in Love, Jordan Wilder is hooking up with Nina Devon, who just so happens to be his ex-best friend Rainer's mom. On Dear White People, Troy Fairbanks is hooking up with professor Nika Hobbs. Then there was Gossip Girl, which saw Nate Archibald's affair with Catherine Beaton (old enough to be his ex's boyfriend's step-mom), Serena van der Woodsen's relationship with her professor Colin Forrester, and Blair Waldorf's hookup with Jack Bass. And let's not forget that while The Vampire Diaries' Stefan and Damon Salvatore might have looked young, they were literally 10 times Elena Gilbert's age. Not every one of these couples involved minors, but most involved characters in their teens and early 20s, and all involved relationships with significant age gaps.

Dana Tepper

Why are viewers okay with hyper-sexualizing teens by shipping them with adults? In the real world, a 20-something guy who spends his free time making out with the high school junior he teaches is a creepy criminal who deserves to get locked up. That guy isn't cute. He's not worth shipping or swooning over. He doesn't deserve to be the subject of romantic black-and-white GIFs on Tumblr or aspirational fan fiction.

There's a reason these relationships are illegal and problematic. A teacher or parent is supposed to be serve as a trusted adult that a young person can turn to for guidance. When they cross a boundary and enter into a sexual relationship with someone who they are supposed to be responsible for, it throws that dynamic into a tailspin. It might sound sexy or fun to get attention and validation from someone older (and who hasn't had a crush on a cute teacher?). But in reality, it's like if you pursued a middle-schooler — it's inappropriate.

I don't mean to be a total buzzkill. I get that a good TV show is all about escapism, and there's nothing juicier than watching a scandalous romance unfold. But it's seriously messed-up that teen dramas thrive on young people (specifically girls) having relationships with significantly older partners.

It's irresponsible to put Ezra in the same category as Caleb, the tech genius/bad boy with a heart of gold, or Toby, the sweet but misunderstood oddball with slamming abs. Ezra's more than just a book-loving hottie with a never-ending collection of vests. He's a predator, plain and simple.

Hannah Orenstein is the assistant features editor at Seventeen.com. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram!

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io