Sarah Hyland had a mini Modern Family reunion with former co-stars Julie Bowen and Jesse Tyler Ferguson on Thursday evening.
The three actors — Sarah, 33, Julie, 54, and Jesse, 49 — dressed to the nines as they attended Variety’s 2024 Power of Women event in Hollywood.
Hyland teased her perky cleavage in a low-cut gown with black at the chest and a sparkly silver fabric throughout the rest.
Bowen looked darling in a two-toned, pink and red, off-the-shoulder dress that cropped at her ankles.
For his part, Ferguson walked the red carpet in a dark blue suit, brown tie, and brown dress shoes.
Sarah embraced the autumn season as she flaunted a vampy, glossy, dark manicure.
Her lustrous brunette bob haircut was styled in an off-center part with bouncy barrel curls set around her face.
The actress brought her husband of two years, 40-year-old TV personality Wells Adams, as her date.
He wore a stone-blue suit with a button-up white shirt, black leather belt, and black shoes.
On Thursday night Hyland was the recipient of Variety’s inaugural Courage Award as recognition for her work in animal welfare and domestic abuse awareness.
She got candid about surviving domestic violence herself, and why it was pertinent share her story.
‘For thousands of years now, we didn’t talk about it,’ she said about DV.
She added, ‘The community hasn’t shared enough, I believe. And I feel that if we talk about it more, more women — and men and just human beings in general in abusive relationships — will feel more comfortable to be able to talk about it with their loved ones instead of letting their abuser isolate them from everyone, which is the first thing that they do, so that you don’t have that community.’
Hyland stressed the importance of being vocal in order to help others in need.
And she noted that post-traumatic stress caused by abuse often lingers even after survivors end the unhealthy relationship.
According to an account from People, the sitcom star said, ‘[It stays] in that abused place of your soul, where you think it’s your fault the whole time and you could have done better, you could have gotten out sooner, you could have told people.’
‘I completely understand the dissociation pattern of it,’ she expressed. ‘I am very much guilty about it myself… until something happens where I’m triggered, and I didn’t realize that part of myself hadn’t been healed.”
And she reflected, ‘I don’t know if that part [of] any woman will ever be fully healed from that. It’s something that kind of scars her soul a little bit. It’s moreso putting love towards that scar instead of hating it and ignoring it.’
In June, Bowen recalled helping her former co-star, Sarah, get out of an abusive relationship in 2014 as the actress filed for a restraining actor against ex-boyfriend Matt Prokop.
Appearing on The Skinny Confidential Him & Her podcast, Julie shared, ‘I was a responsible adult that happened to be around at the right time. I mean, I’m sure another responsible adult would have done the exact same thing. I just love her.’
In a statement to Variety, Bowen, who played Hyland’s onscreen mother in Modern Family, expressed how proud she is of her.
‘Without adversity, there can be no way to define one’s character and sense of self,’ she told the publication.
She added, ‘Sarah’s path has forced her, from a very early age, to take on challenges — both physical and emotional. She has met each moment with determination, grace, and vulnerability. I’m so proud that Variety is recognizing her strength and heart with the Courage Award.’
