Ariel Winter and actor Luke Benward have reportedly separated, but are said to be staying close friends following the quiet end of their long-term relationship.
Ariel Winter is said to have split from her boyfriend Luke Benward.
According to a source who spoke to People, the Modern Family actress, 28, and her partner quietly broke up last year, with news of their apparent relationship breakdown reported on Thursday (14.05.26) by the outlet.
The insider said: “They just realized after almost six years that they were better as friends.”
They added Ariel still regards Luke as “the best” and insisited: “There’s tons of love still there between them.”
The source went on: “They are still best friends and share the pups, so everything is really good.”
Ariel, who started dating Luke in 2019, was last seen out with him in July 2025, as they attended a screening of Don’t Log Off, the thriller film they produced and starred in together that was filmed at the height of the COVID pandemic.
At a screening of Don’t Log Off, she told People: “I just think he’s great, in general. I’m a stan. I‘m a stan for my man!”
It comes after Ariel said she was “open” to the idea of a Modern Family reunion.
She actress played Alex Dunphy in the ABC sitcom between 2009 and 2020, and Ariel recently revealed she’s now open to the possibility of reviving the role.
Ariel told E! News: “I’d definitely be open to it. But that’s not up to me. That’s up to the powers that be. If they want to hit me up, they can hit me up.”
The actress also revealed what she hopes to see from Alex if she does return. She added: “Alex had so many different interests. They were all extremely educational, smart and amazing interests. But I would hope that she has expanded her life in so many ways that I know she could have.
“I hope now that she’s found herself totally in the way that she would want to, and put some effort into finding her heart and what she loves personally, because she’s already achieved so much professionally.”
Ariel previously admitted that she found it “hard” to say goodbye to Modern Family.
The actress explained the show’s cast – which included Julie Bowen, Sarah Hyland and Sofia Vergara – “were like a real family”.
She told People: “It was hard. We were like a real family. It was weird knowing it would just be over, and I wouldn’t get to see everybody all the time anymore. “It was like, ‘Wait, yeah, wait, we’re not going to be together on Monday?’
“So on the one hand, I didn’t want it to end, but at the same time, I was ready to start something new as an adult.”
Ariel Winter ‘has quietly split from boyfriend Luke Benward’
