Spencer Hastings grew up in a rich family. Her parents were both successful lawyers, and her sister, Mellissa, always seemed to make them proud. Spencer has always felt second best in comparison to her sister, and though she strives for perfection she often finds herself falling short. She has a strained relationship with her sister due to having a bad habit of falling for her sister's boyfriends, Wren and Ian. Her sister has always been pretty shady when it comes to the subject of A, leaving Spencer and the other liars with suspicious about where her loyalties lie, and how much she actually loathes them.

Spencer has experiences much trauma in her life, including her own near death, more times than she carried to remember. She was attacked by Ian Thomas who was pushed from a bell tower in an attempt to kill Spencer. All the poor girl saw was boots and other black items, leaving her to believe that it was in fact A who did it. After A was revealed to be ex-loser Mona Vanderwaal Spencer was offered a position on the A team. After declining and being found by her friends Mona tried to attack her. She charged at her, ready to push her off a cliff, Mona in turn fell, and Spencer tried with all her might to hold her up. After her many attacks from A, including being locked in a dressing room with a snake, being attacked in a trippy mansion, Losing her boyfriend Alex, and having the murder of her friend Allison pinned on her, she has had more than enough.

Spencer started dating Toby Cavanaugh after connecting with him about being a suspect in the Allison Dilaurentis murder case. The pair have had their ups and downs/ They've been broken up by A, Toby joined the A team, Spencer joined the A team, A made Spencer believe Toby was dead; All of that lead to the inevitable... Spencer losing her mind. After believing she has seen Toby's dead body she wanders the forest in a state of insanity. After being found by park rangers and taken to Radley