Ariel Winter opens up about her troubled childhood

Her mum went on national television to talk about their strained relationship, thrusting her private life into the public domain.

Now Ariel Winter has opened up about her troubled childhood to The Hollywood Reporter, saying she felt felt sexualised from a young age by her mum, Crystal Workman.

The actress - who rose to fame in Modern Family - said that her mum would force her into "the smallest miniskirts, sailor suits, low-cut things, the shortest dresses you've ever seen."

"People thought I was 24 when I was 12," Ariel told the publication. "If there was going to be a nude scene when I was that age, my mother would have a thousand percent said yes."

Ariel, 19, legally emancipated from her mum in 2015, when she was just 17.

She was removed from her mum's three years earlier after allegations of abuse, something Crystal has always denied.

But Ariel said life as a kid for her was full of unhealthy pressures and restrictions.

"You don’t get to mess up when you have somebody around you who is constantly watching," she said, explaining that food was "very, very restricted" and that she wasn't allowed to befriend other girls "because females are competition."

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In April, her estranged mum pleaded for Ariel to “grow up” and “dress properly”, saying she is sad that she “feels the need to expose herself” during an interview with In Touch Weekly.

Despite the fraught relationship with her mum, Ariel revealed she wouldn't change her past as it's made her the woman she is today, but admits she went through a tough time dealing with it all.

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