COVID-Strong No More: Ariel Winter and Luke Benward Call It Quits

It’s the end of an era for Modern Family alum Ariel Winter and actor Luke Benward. The couple, who spent nearly six years building what they proudly called a“COVID-strong relationship,”quietly parted ways in August 2025, according to reports that surfaced on May 14.

Winter, 28, and Benward, 31, first connected romantically in 2019 after years of friendship. Their timing couldn’t have been better—or maybe worse, depending on how you look at it. When lockdown hit, they decided to go all-in on their relationship rather than let isolation pull them apart. In a June 2025 interview, Benward reflected on how they’d moved from attraction to genuine connection:“You start with the attraction, and then you get the connection, and then you’re like,‘OK, can I be friends with this person? Do I like this person?’We were already way past that.”Winter backed him up, joking that they were“happy to be one”of the rare couples who actually thrived during the pandemic rather than splitting up or having what she called“COVID babies.”

But in Hollywood, even the strongest bonds can fracture. The pair had built a professional partnership alongside their romance, starring together in the film Don’t Log Off and collaborating on projects they genuinely seemed excited about. Benward even joked about being a Phil Dunphy fan—referencing Winter’s iconic role as Alex Dunphy on Modern Family—just to get a rise out of her. They had a cooking show in the works and talked openly about marriage and kids in their near future.

What changed between their optimistic statements about their five-year plan and their August 2025 split remains private. Neither Winter nor Benward has publicly commented on the breakup. It’s a reminder that relationships—even the ones that look the strongest on social media—don’t always make it through the long haul. Sometimes the spark that carried you through a pandemic simply doesn’t burn forever.

Winter’s relationship history includes a three-year stint with Levi Meaden before their 2019 breakup, which opened the door for her connection with Benward. Now, at 28, she moves forward into whatever’s next.