Ariel Winter, best known for her role as Alex Dunphy on "Modern Family," has recently shared her experiences with trauma resulting from inappropriate messages she received from older men during her childhood and teenage years. In an interview with The Daily Mail, the 27-year-old actress revealed that these encounters, both online and in person, deeply affected her and led her to seek therapy.
Winter began her career at a young age, starting in Hollywood at just four years old. As she grew older and gained access to technology like laptops and cell phones, she started receiving inappropriate messages from older men. These experiences were traumatic for her, and she emphasized the entertainment industry can be a "dark place" that exposes children to predators.
Growing up in the public eye also brought intense scrutiny of her body. Winter recounted how her figure was constantly written about, with headlines focusing on her appearance from the age of 14. She also spoke about how medication she took for her mental health caused her to gain weight, leading to bullying and criticism. When she later lost the weight, she faced further criticism for being "way too skinny". This constant judgment took a significant toll on her self-esteem and led her on a "journey of self-healing".
Winter is now working with SOSA (Safe from Online Sexual Abuse) for their true crime docuseries, "SOSA Undercover". The series focuses on going undercover to catch child sex predators, which Winter found cathartic after her own experiences with older men online. She expressed that pretending to be a 12-year-old and talking to older men can be scary, but it is validating to help put away predators who have been harming children. Winter feels it's vital to help protect young women from the experiences she endured.
In May, Winter spoke about the rude emails and messages she received regarding her weight. She described the damaging effect of reading articles about herself where "grown people" wrote about how she looked "terrible or pregnant or like a fat slut" when she was just 14 years old. Despite these negative experiences, Winter has expressed openness to acting.
Currently, Winter lives outside of Los Angeles with her boyfriend, Luke Benward, and their six dogs. She is grateful for the supportive people in her life and is focused on healing old wounds. Winter has stated that she wants to have a family in the future and needed to heal from her past experiences.
