'Modern Family' Ariel Winter Revisits Reason For Los Angeles Exit

The paparazzi are not the only reason Ariel Winter packed up and moved out of her hometown of Los Angeles. 

The actress, best known as Alex Dunphy in the ABC sitcom "Modern Family," recently addressed her relocation in a candid interview. She got emotional, revealing her traumas and how being in the spotlight played a significant role in shaping her childhood negatively.

Ariel Winter has been in the spotlight from an early age of 4, starring in commercials before making her TV debut in an episode of "Listen Up." After playing one character for over a decade, the actress has traded acting for production projects, starting a podcast, and developing a cooking show.

Growing up onscreen was challenging for Winter, who faced consistent criticisms about her developing body and not living up to the preferred beauty standards of critics. "It was just everywhere. It was every headline I read about myself," she recalled.

"Grown people writing articles about me saying how I looked terrible or pregnant or like a fat slut. I mean, I was 14. It totally damaged my self-esteem," Winter continued. She noted the endless negativity made it nearly impossible to love herself, saying:

"I understood what it was like to be hated. 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.'"

It was one thing to suffer the public's scrutiny, and it was another problem not being able to find solace from the hatred at home.

Winter accused her mother, Chrisoula Workman, of abuse and did not catch a break from their tumultuous relationship until she was 14. At the time, the Department of Child and Family Protective Services removed her from Workman's care, per PEOPLE.

After escaping her mother's alleged abuse, Winter was placed under her older sister Shanelle Gray's care. She credited the latter for giving her some of the best memories she experienced in L.A., declaring: "I went on to have a great rest of my teenage years thanks to being under her custody."

Although Gray shielded her from some of the pain, she could not overwrite the trauma Winter had endured and would have continued to face in the spotlight.

The TV personality stressed that she could not handle the constant criticisms and opted to leave L.A. with her boyfriend, actor Luke Benward, after the final season of the ABC sitcom.

"Honestly, it's just my entire childhood. It's a really deep, painful, sore, sore part for me that's so much deeper and bigger than I've ever felt ready to talk about," Winter lamented. She thanked therapy and a change of scenery for ensuring she could reflect on these tumultuous times peacefully.

Although she has been enjoying a private life with her boyfriend, Winter clarified that her days as an entertainer are far from over. "I didn't leave the industry," she declared, revealing she was more into producing her own projects than acting now.

That wasn't all; her new life away from L.A. got her into cooking, and she was working on developing a cooking show and a podcast. While these projects are still in the works, Winter has been making significant contributions to the community by fighting against pedophiles.

She works with an organization called SOSA (Safe From Online Sex Abuse) to bait and trap Internet pedophiles. Winter noted she resonated deeply with the foundation's cause as a "survivor."

Earlier this year, she referred to herself as "a victim of grooming online and IRL [in real life] and CSA [child sex abuse]" but refused to share further details.

Three years before her candid interview, The Blast reported Winter had addressed her relocation from L.A. and blamed the paparazzi for influencing her decision. She shared her thoughts during a 2022 appearance on the "Quitters" podcast, hosted by "Modern Family" co-star, Julie Bowen.

"Part of the reason I always hated L.A. is because I have been followed by paparazzi for a very long portion of my life. And I really, really dislike having my space invaded," Winter explained. She labeled the unsolicited attention unnerving, telling Bowen:

"I don't like pictures of me when I haven't signed up for pictures of me. I don't like feeling watched. I've always just wanted to live a very, very normal life, just have a normal existence."

Winter argued that being an entertainer should not warrant having every aspect of one's life invaded and exploited by the media. "This sounds aggressive, but really f-ck off. Until you've experienced it, you don't understand it," she stressed, adding:

"Just because you signed up to create something doesn't mean you sign up to have your life invaded and taken away from you ... You should be able to choose what you share."

"There are people OK with sharing everything in their lives — and I respect that. But it should be a choice. I want you to see my work and my characters," Winter continued. "That's what a lot of people get in the industry for. Everyone deserves privacy and to share what they want to share about themselves."

Can Ariel Winter endure the struggle of the spotlight when she returns to acting?