Sarah Hyland Claims ‘Modern Family’ Execs Once Forced Her to Wear Heels Despite Painful Arthritis

Not all of Sarah Hyland’s memories from the Modern Family set were all that enjoyable considering she was dealing with a lot of serious health issues.

“I was always focused on essentially just surviving and knowing my lines and being there 100 percent when they yelled ‘action’ — and then immediately collapsing when they yelled ‘cut,’” Hyland, 32, explained on former costar Jesse Ferguson’s “Dinner On Me” podcast on Wednesday, August 16. Hyland was born with kidney dysplasia and has undergone multiple kidney transplants.

Hyland recalled that in one episode, Modern Family executives forced her to wear heels even though she was suffering “excruciating pain” from gout (a type of inflammatory arthritis as a result of her kidney issues.)

“They put me in high heels,” she explained. “They had not established my outfit yet, and they insisted that I was wearing heels.”

Despite the ordeal she described having to go through on the show, Hyland did thank Ferguson, 47, for all his support while filming. “I just want to let you know how appreciative I am for that,” she said.

Hyland underwent her first kidney transplant in 2012 and later underwent a second transplant in September 2017 after her body rejected the first one.

“I was very depressed,” Hyland told Self in December 2018. “When a family member gives you a second chance at life, and it fails, it almost feels like it’s your fault. It’s not. But it does. For a long time, I was contemplating suicide, because I didn’t want to fail my little brother like I failed my dad. I had gone through [my whole life] of always being a burden, of always having to be looked after, having to be cared for.”

In March 2020, Hyland also opened up about some of her fears about being more at risk for catching COVID-19.

“I am obviously immunocompromised with my transplant history and am on immunosuppressants, so everything in this house is sanitized,” she shared during an episode of the “Brad Behavior” podcast. “Say someone gets a 24-hour bug, I get it for a week or more. For me, it’s really dangerous. … My game plan right now is to stay home.”

In addition to the support of her family and costars like Ferguson while dealing with her health challenges, Hyland can also count on husband Wells Adams with whom she tied the knot in August 2022.

“He’s seen me at my worst,” Hyland explained to Self in the same December 2018 interview, recalling how Adams, 39, supported her through her second kidney transplant. “He was there through all of that. I think that’s why I feel the most beautiful in his eyes, because he still finds me beautiful after seeing all that.”