Secrets Behind The Cast Of Modern Family Revealed!

If you have ever watched ABC’s widely popular and award-winning TV series, Modern Family, you would’ve thought to yourself that’s just how you want your family to be. But, just like every typical family, the cast members of this beautiful on-screen ensemble also have a share of their struggles. Behind their amazing acting and despite setting the perfect example of a modern and loving family on screen, most of the show’s cast members fought their own battles—hard, terrifying, and controversial.

Ariel Winter Wants Out

Playing the role of the genius, quick-witted, and sassy Alex in the show, Ariel Winter seems like the type of girl who’s got her life together but turns out, it’s the other way around.

Since entering her teen years, Ariel has been in a custody battle with her own mother. Yes, you read that right, not her on-screen over-the-top mother, Claire, but her own, actual mother seen in the picture below.

She wanted to break free from her mother as allegedly, she suffered from abuse—both physical and emotional.

So, from age 14-17, Ariel was left to the care of her older (and more responsible) sister, Shanelle Workman, and just a few months short of being 18, she was finally granted full emancipation. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, the actress said, “It has been very sad for me, but at the same time it’s been much better for me emotionally and physically to be on my own and have a better, safer household and support system.” If you think this is shocking, wait until you read the next one.

Sofia Vergara’s Embryo Court Case

Before tying the knot with her lovely beau, Joe Manganiello, Sofia Vergara had to fight a court case with her ex-fiance Nick Loeb over her frozen embryos—which got quite ugly. The legal battle ran for several years, up until the present.

Sofia and her Nick Loeb started dating in 2010, got engaged in 2012, and later on called off their engagement in 2014. During their relationship, they have both consented to freeze their embryos in a clinic in Beverly Hills, California. Now that they’ve broken up and Sofia has found her husband, Nick Loeb comes chasing for the embryos, saying that he has the right to obtain full custody over the two embryos whom he has already named, Isabella and Emma.

The legal battle has been a tedious case for the lawyers of both parties, even transferring jurisdiction to different states just to get leverage. As of the latest developments of the case, both parties don’t seem to want to back down anytime soon, but Sofia was ordered by the court to pay Nick a sum of a whopping $80,000 for his attorney’s fees.

Now, that’s a lot of money and drama for some unborn babies. And speaking of babies involved in drama and money, let’s get to the next one.

Make Way, New Lily Coming Through!

Everybody loves Mitch and Cam’s adorable and sassy daughter, Lily Pritchett-Tucker played by Aubrey Anderson Emmons. But, before the equally adorable Aubrey bagged the gay couple’s daughter role in season 3 of the series, Lily was actually played by someone else.

Newborn baby Lily fresh from Vietnam was previously played by the identical twin babies, Jaden and Ella Hiller. They play the role of the character interchangeably for two seasons, but before the third season, the twins’ mom told Modern Family her kids won’t be coming back.

The main reason? The twins didn’t like acting. At first, the babies seemed to enjoy what they were doing but as they developed, their personalities also developed. So, the parents eventually pulled them out of the show, despite the management’s offer of bigger bucks, the family’s decision was final. Thus, baby Lily was reborn into Aubrey Anderson-Emmons’ version.

Well, Lily wasn’t the only one who had some drama in the Pritchett-Tucker household because one of her dads had his fair share of struggles too.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Skin Cancer Scare

The 44-year-old actor had a quick but scary brush with cancer last 2016. Not much detail was disclosed to the media as Jesse only revealed that he got the condition even after religiously using sunscreen every day.

Although he said it wasn’t a major surgery, he also revealed that it was still quite scary as he had to get some skin removed from his cheeks. The actor took to his Instagram to share his successful surgery and to let the fans know he’s okay and ready to go back into filming.

Major health issues just seem to be a common theme for Modern Family’s cast members because even athletic Julie Bowen has one. Read on.

Pacemaker in (literally) the heart of Julie Bowen

Looking at the stunningly good physique of Julie Bowen, you wouldn’t even believe she’s in her late 40s. But despite having a good body and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, the actress was diagnosed with a serious heart condition.

In her early 20s, Julie was diagnosed with a cardiovascular condition called bradycardia, where a person’s regular heartbeats can go dangerously low. So, to prevent further complications and to keep her heartbeat intact, she was strapped with a pacemaker to serve as her monitor and to help her heart kick in just enough beats. Nowadays, Julie has learned to live with her pacemaker and is continuing to live an active and healthy lifestyle as always.

You know what they say, like mother, like daughter, like Julie, like Sarah, but in this case… it’s not something to be happy about.

An Illness That’s With Sarah Hyland For Life

Despite embodying the role of Haley Dunphy with a devil-may-care attitude in the series perfectly, Sarah Hyland is far from being worry-free in real life.

The actress was born with a kidney disease called kidney dysplasia, which means her kidneys didn’t fully develop. With this, she has undergone 16 surgeries—including two kidney transplants. Kidney dysplasia is no easy feat for the actress as she continued to work amidst all her health problems and the pain.

In 2012, her father donated his kidney to her transplant, but years later, Sarah’s body started rejecting it. “When you have an organ transplant, it’s basically a foreign thing in your body. Your immune system will want to attack it and be like, ‘What is this? This is not supposed to be here.’” she said in an interview with a magazine. So, in 2017, she had no choice but to undergo a second transplant—and lucky for her, it was a success.