How Shay Mitchell hid her pregnancy while filming Hulu's 'Dollface': 'Just big sweaters'

BEVERLY HILLS – If you're going to film a TV show while you're pregnant, it helps to have a character who likes loose-fitting clothes.

That helped "Pretty Little Liars" and "You" actress Shay Mitchell, who was growing a baby bump while filming Hulu's new comedy "Dollface" (due Nov. 15), keep her pregnancy a secret until she was ready to share the news with the world.

"My character's wardrobe prior to them even knowing was already kind of loose and free-flowing," Mitchell, 32, said at the Television Critics Association Friday. "And it was great. I mean, (co-star Brenda Song's) character was the complete opposite, so had I been in her position, I would have had to tell them a lot earlier. But once I saw the first fitting, I was like 'Oh, I'm good.' ... (I wore) just big sweaters."

Mitchell recently revealed to fans that she suffered a miscarriage in 2018 at 14 weeks, which made her announcement that she's expecting a baby girl with boyfriend Matte Babel, 38, all the more emotional.

She wanted her announcement to be "on my own terms; that's what was important to me. I knew that I had to be a little more in hiding in the beginning, but I got to announce it how I wanted to."

Mitchell is excited that the news is finally out, and now she can relax.

"(The best part is) not having to hide it," she says. "Because we were shooting this show, and for three months clearly I was pregnant, so it was nice to be able to not to have to be so concerned that I was showing."

Did her co-stars, who include Song and "Thor" actress Kat Dennings, or the producers realize that she had a big secret on set?

"They didn't know," Mitchell says. "(Actually) I'm sure they did know, but they didn't say anything, and they were very polite."

More: Shay Mitchell's pregnancy: 'I've just become a member of the swollen foot crew'

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shay Mitchell's pregnancy: How she hid bump on Hulu's 'Dollface'