Modern Family star Ariel Winter left Los Angeles to put traumatic childhood behind her

Ariel Winter has revealed she left Los Angeles to move on from her traumatic childhood.

The 27-year-old actress, best known for her role as Alex Dunphy in the hit sitcom Modern Family, has opened up about growing up in the spotlight.

In a candid interview with People, Ariel reflected on seeing negative press about her looks from a young age.

“It was just everywhere,” she said. “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 slut. I mean, I was 14.”

The actress added, “It totally damaged my self-esteem.”

Ariel went on to explain how the comments about her appearance affected her.

“I understood what it was like to be hated,” she told the outlet. “No matter what I was going through, I was a target. It made it very difficult to look at myself in the mirror and go, ‘I love this version of me.'”

As well as struggling with fame, Ariel has also had a difficult time at home, having previously accused her mother Chrisoula Workman of abuse. Chrisoula has denied the accusations.

Ariel was removed from her home by the Department of Child and Family Services at the age of 14 and placed in the care of her older sister, actress Shanelle Gray, who became her legal guardian.

“I went on to have a great rest of my teenage years thanks to being under her custody,” Ariel said of her sibling.

The TV star then revealed that she and her actor boyfriend Luke Benward left L.A. shortly after Modern Family ended in 2020, but she insisted she “didn’t leave the industry”.

“I just left the city of L.A. It holds some not-great memories for me, and I’m young and never lived anywhere else, and thought, ‘Why not?'” she shared. “If you’re no longer on a network show that shoots there, you don’t really have to be there, and if I get a network show, I can easily go back.”