The Real Reason Modern Family's Ariel Winter Ditched Hollywood Is More Tragic Than You Realized

This article includes discussion of child abuse and neglect. 

Growing up on TV is atypical for most kids. Ariel Winter, who played Alex Dunphy on the ABC's "Modern Family," is familiar with the quirks — and the strife — that come with childhood acting. Winter began her role as the brainiac middle child of the Dunphy family at age 11, but it was far from the glamour that many would imagine. The tragic details of Winter's upbringing include mental health struggles, family abuse, and self-esteem issues. She has opened up about the trials she endured, which all eventually led her to leave Hollywood. 

In May 2025, the actor spoke to People about the scrutiny she received just by being in the spotlight. "It was every headline I read about myself, like, grown people writing articles about me saying how I looked terrible or pregnant or like a fat s**t. I mean, I was 14," she said. Until her teens, Winter didn't find much solace at home. Winter's relationship with her mother, Crystal Workman, was — and still is — incredibly strained. Winter has claimed that Workman was both physically and emotionally abusive, per The Hollywood Reporter, who spoke with her in 2017 — the year Winter was emancipated from her mother and moved in with her sister, who acted as her legal guardian for her teenage years. 

All this to say that her childhood, fraught with unrelenting harassment and parental neglect, festers as trauma in Winter's heart, and one constant reminder is her hometown of Los Angeles. This is why, after she had wrapped up the eleventh and final season of "Modern Family," she and her longtime boyfriend, Luke Benward, uprooted their West Coast life and headed East. 

Ariel Winter has had a stunning transformation since her "Modern Family" days. After ditching California in 2022, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, with her boyfriend and fellow actor, Luke Benward. "I don't think L.A. was ever really my vibe, but I just was nervous," Winter told E! News, explaining why she didn't leave Hollywood sooner. "And then this opportunity presented itself, and I was like, you know what? I'm in a season of change, and I'm really trying to heal and grow and evolve. It's opened up my world a lot."

Though she's not done with TV and film, the "Sofia the First" actor is broadening her career. In early 2025, Winter shared news on Instagram that she had been working with SOSA (Safe From Online Sex Abuse), an organization which, among other facets like education and advocacy, teams up with the police to use undercover decoys (Winter's role) as a means to identify and catch predators. "It was harder than I thought to be Everleigh [the decoy] because it brings up so much from childhood," she wrote in her post, adding, "but it also heals a little bit of my inner child knowing that what we're doing may prevent just one kid from experiencing that kind of trauma."

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.