Ariel Winter Explains Why She Vanished From Los Angeles After Modern Family Ended!!

Ariel Winter has ditched her home in Los Angeles after years of living in the big city, and she’s finally revealing why she decided to make the move!

In a new chat with Modern Family on-screen momma Julie Bowen on her podcast Quitters (co-hosted by Chad Sanders), the actress revealed what she hated most about the City of Angels. The 24-year-old, who grew up in the public eye while starring in the ABC sitcom, explained:

“Part of the reason I always hated LA 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.”

That would definitely get frustrating fast!

It wasn’t just that her personal space was always being “invaded,” but she also disliked the lack of control she had over her life and what others knew about it, she continued:

“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.”

OK, we know what you’re thinking: how can she complain about not having a “normal life” when she signed up to be a TV star?! It’s definitely a privileged problem to have, but you have to admit, no matter how successful someone is, they shouldn’t have to suffer the constant fear of being “watched” just because their dreams came true!

This desire to live a normal life was Winter’s main reason to move because the Sofia The First star “never really felt like [she] could do” that in LA because of paparazzi and constantly being recognized in public, she added:

“Everywhere I went, someone’s taking my picture.”

As a result of this, her hopes of a normal life always felt impossible, especially because her every move was often dissected online, she elaborated:

“Everything normal that I would do, it’s not going to stay normal. It’s really just about the feeling of not being comfortable to do normal things.”

Interestingly, it took her a long time of hating the SoCal locale before she finally decided to pack her bags and go. The Screen Actors Guild Award winner recalled:

“People have always been like, ‘You don’t like LA, why don’t you just move’… and then I just randomly looked and decided why not. We sold our cars, got an Escalade to fit all the dogs for the drive, put my house on the market, and sold my house.”

Wow!

While she hasn’t revealed where she calls home now, it seems like it was the best decision she could have made! Ariel reflected: