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20 Times Ariel Winter Got Real About Self-Love and Body Acceptance — See Her Best Quotes

Style

Jan 27, 2020 11:00 am·

By Jennifer Machin

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1 of 20

On Switching Antidepressants

“[I] was able to find a great combination of medication that works for me,” she said on her Instagram Story in April 2019. “The change in medication instantly made me drop all of the weight I couldn’t lose before by just giving me back my metabolism. That was very unexpected.”

2 of 20

On Puberty

“I turned 12 and my body changed drastically. I suddenly had huge boobs and my butt was filling out,” she told People. “And not that I wasn’t excited — I was — but the [comments] that I got online from people really changed the way I felt about myself, so it was harder for me to dress. I would put something on that I felt good in, and that was my style, which is edgy and sexy, and I would get tons of hate [from people] calling me a slut, or [saying] that I looked fat, or how could I dress like this.”

3 of 20

On Why She Got Her Breast Reduction Surgery

“It was so painful. I had a lot of back problems. I really couldn’t stand up straight for a long period of time,” she told Glamour. “It started to hurt so bad that I couldn’t take the pain. My neck was hurting so bad and I actually had some problems with my spine. I had been discussing my chest with doctors for many years, but when I finally said, ‘I’m thinking of doing this,’ he said, ‘Your back is going to thank you so much.'”

4 of 20

On the Aftermath of Her Breast Reduction

“I got it for myself. I can’t even really put it into words about how amazing it feels to really feel right,” she told Glamour.

5 of 20

On Flaunting Her Scars

“Guys, there is a reason I didn’t make an effort to cover up my scars! They are part of me and I’m not ashamed of them at all,” she tweeted after she received backlash for her outfit at the 2016 Screen Actors Guild Awards.

6 of 20

On Addressing the Haters

“I really had to stand up and make it a point to fight back against people who were not only body shaming, but also slut shaming … taking aim at people that weren’t doing anything wrong and making comments that were so harmful and distressing for absolutely no purpose,” she told SELF.

7 of 20

On Doing What Feels Best for Her

“I didn’t want to not tell anybody and then have another million stories [say], ‘What happened to Ariel? She looks so different,'” she told Glamour. “And I also think there’s some good that can come from [telling] my story. It’s something that I did to better my life and better my health, and I think that can benefit a lot of young girls. I have felt happier with myself than I ever have.”

8 of 20

On Who She Looked Up to in the Industry

“I had a great role model in Sofia [Vergara] growing up, with her being a curvy woman that was super proud of who she was and what she looked like,” she told SELF. “She could see that I was struggling a little bit with how to deal with my body, and was always trying to give me advice, like, ‘Here are some brands that would look good on our body type,’ or ‘Wear whatever you want, and feel good about yourself.'”

9 of 20

On Accepting Herself

“It was definitely a journey for me to learn to accept my body,” she said at EW’s pre-Emmy party in 2016. “I finally said to myself, ‘This is who I am. There’s no way I’m changing, and I should learn to love and accept it.’ And I did. It just took me awhile.”

10 of 20

On Feeling Herself

“Dear sorry body-shamers, I looked HOT in that dress. And if you hate it, don’t buy it. But please get a hobby. XOXO Ariel #EmbraceYourBody,” she wrote on Twitter regarding the dress she wore to her graduation party.

11 of 20

On Embracing Everything

“Embrace all that you are. Don’t let those outside voices become your inner voice #thisismybody #mychoice #loveyourcurves,” she captioned a mirror selfie on Instagram.

12 of 20

On People With Negative Remarks

“If people don’t like it, unfollow me. If you’re so offended, why do you look at it? Don’t take the time to hate on me. Just unfollow me and follow someone who covers every part of their body to their toes. I don’t care,” she told Yahoo Style.

13 of 20

On Dressing How She Wants

“I don’t know what to wear everyday so I look ‘appropriate’ or ‘fashionable.’ Also, screw having to always look appropriate or fashionable. For what? Society? Who gets to decide what is appropriate or fashionable? I wear what I like and no one should fault me for that,” she said in a now-deleted Instagram post.

14 of 20

On Her New Shape

“You feel like a new person. You feel like this is how I was supposed to be,” she told Glamour.

15 of 20

On Flaws

“I think the most important thing of being a role model is being imperfect and being yourself, and teaching people that being yourself is perfect and you don’t have to be this cookie-cutter idea of perfect,” she said at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival.

16 of 20

On Posting Revealing Photos

“I feel like people put so much emphasis on [how revealing my Instagrams are]. Guys, all the time, go on their Instagrams and take pictures nude with guitars in front of their stuff. No one says anything. Nobody cares, ” she told Yahoo Style. “When we try to be free and post what we want, it’s like, look at that slut on social media. That’s not what it is. We’re proud of our bodies. We’re proud of who we are. We’re made the way we are. Why do we care? If I take a picture and I think it looks good — if it’s a little revealing, whatever.”

17 of 20

On Being Different

“Why do I have to be like everyone else? Why can’t people just let other people feel good about themselves and do what they want?” she wrote on Instagram. “Wear whatever you want people! As long as you feel good about yourself that’s what matters. Don’t ever let anyone stifle who you are and how you express yourself.”

18 of 20

On Being a Role Model

“I love the term [role model], it’s great. But I think people put too much pressure on people to be perfect and to portray that image, when really what we should be aspiring to is having role models that should be themselves because people make mistakes,” she said at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. “They are human, and I think that’s really important. That’s what I aim to be is just me.”

19 of 20

On Going to the Beach

“People are so stressed out about how they’re going to look in their bathing suits that they forget to go to the beach because they want to go to the beach, which defeats the whole purpose. The beach should be a safe space,” she told Refinery 29.

20 of 20

On Being Herself

“I wear what I want, I say what I want, I do what I want. I feel like more people should be that way — unapologetically themselves,” she said at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. You go, girl!

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