ariel winterAriel Winter plays the smart, sassy middle daughter Alex Dunphy to adorably imperfect but loving Claire and Phil Dunphy on the hit TV show Modern Family. But it looks like her real life may not resemble her fictional life very much at all. A judge has removed Ariel from her home after hearing allegations of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her mother, Crystal Workman.

Sources say Crystal has been ordered to stay 100 yards away from Ariel and that the young star is now living with her older sister, Shanelle Workman. Apparently, 20 years ago, Shanelle was removed from her home under similar circumstances and was in foster care for two years.

I guess we'll have to wait for confirmation to find out if the story is true -- but wow, talk about grace under pressure. Ariel has been acting since she was 7 years old, so she must be used to shutting out her private life once those cameras go on. You would never have known Ariel's real life was so stressful. But then, I think a lot of kids who are abused at home turn out to be great actors, going on with their public lives as if everything is just fine.

It's strange to think that all this time, while we were watching Alex Dunphy's relatively carefree life on the show, Ariel may have been going home to a horrible situation. If these allegations about her mother are true, I think it'll change how we see Ariel and her character. It will be hard to watch the show without thinking about Ariel's personal life and the pain that must lie beneath the surface. I wonder if she ever wishes she could have parents more like the Dunphys. I wonder if any of her castmates knew. How did she manage to keep going -- or was it acting that saved her sanity?

Are you surprised to hear the allegations against Ariel Winter's mother?

 

Image via ABC