As a growing adolescent in the public eye, Ariel Winter has endured years of comments and criticism about her body and her mature image. So on June 4, the 17-year-old Modern Family star decided to undergo a breast reduction surgery, taking her from a 32F to a 34D.
“It really did happen overnight,” Winter told Glamour magazine of her accelerated development. “I was 15-years-old with [size] F [breasts]. It’s like, ‘how do you navigate that?’”
Not only was the physical pain of having an F-cup too much for her to handle, Winter grew tired of the comments from critics.
“I’d have to wear the dress that was super tight and form-fitted everywhere because if I didn’t, it didn’t look good,” she recalled. “I didn’t really have an option other than to wear fitted clothes. Everyone would [say], ‘Why is she dressing so mature? That’s so inappropriate for her age!’ I understood what they were saying. It’s not like I wanted to pick out those inappropriate dresses, it’s just that I didn’t really have another choice, or I was going to get ridiculed.”
She went on to note that “Internet bullies” would mercilessly pick on her for her clothes, weight, and breast size.
“I definitely seemed confident; I’m an actress, that’s what we do. But on the inside, I wasn’t feeling so happy,” she admitted.
But Winter insisted that her decision to get the reduction was not about appeasing the critics.
“I got it for myself,” she said. “I can’t even really put it into words about how amazing it feels to really feel right.”
Winter revealed that among the Modern Family cast, she only told her on-screen mom, Julie Bowen, in advance.
“She was really supportive and understanding,” Winter said of Bowen, adding, “I just saw Sofia [Vergara] the other day and she was like, ‘Oh my God! I love them! They’re great!’ I was like, ‘This is hilarious.’”
As for Winter’s real-life mom, Chrystal Workman, from whom she emancipated herself from in May, the actress has not told her about the surgery. (Winter’s older sister, Shanelle Gray, was named her legal guardian after a court hearing this spring.)
“She and I don’t speak. She will find out by reading it and that’s the way that is,” the former child star said. “And that’s fine. I’m in such a happy place now, and in such a better place now surrounded by people who love me and really support me, and that’s all I need.”
