which Modern Family Co-star Ariel Winter calls her best friend and how their bond grew beyond the show.
You know how sometimes the people you work with become more than just colleagues?
That’s exactly what happened on the set of Modern Family, where Ariel Winter found her real-life bestie while playing the brainy Alex Dunphy for 11 incredible seasons.
I was scrolling through my feed when I came across this super sweet story about Ariel.
At 27, she’s really opened up about how that show completely changed her life.
Remember when she was just this adorable 11-year-old kid starting out? She had absolutely no clue the show would blow up the way it did!
“I was 11 when it started. I don’t think I had any idea of if it was going to be successful or not,” she shared in her recent People cover story.
But successful it was, and along the way, she formed relationships that went way beyond just acting together.
What’s really touching is how she describes the cast as her “real family.”
When the show wrapped after those 11 seasons, saying goodbye wasn’t just about ending a job—it was like moving away from your family.
“It was hard,” Ariel admits. “We were like a real family. But at the same time I was ready to start something new as an adult.”
The coolest part? Those bonds didn’t disappear when the cameras stopped rolling.
While the article highlights her special connection with one particular co-star (who played a member of her fictional family), what stands out is how genuine these relationships were. It wasn’t just for show!
And get this—she’s still super close with Nolan Gould, who played her on-screen brother Luke.
Their sibling dynamic totally carried over into real life. How many workplace friendships survive years after the job ends? Not many!
Looking back at her Modern Family journey, Ariel doesn’t see the show’s end as a goodbye to the people who became her second family.
“For me, it’s not a goodbye,” she once said about the finale. Even though people were “sobbing and crying” on that last day of filming, she knew these weren’t just temporary connections.
Growing up on screen wasn’t always easy—she faced brutal body shaming as she naturally developed curves (people can be so mean, right?)—but having that support system of co-stars who had her back made all the difference.
So next time you’re binging Modern Family reruns, remember there’s so much more happening behind those scenes—real friendships, genuine connections, and bonds that last way beyond the final “cut!”