Ariel Winter calls breast reduction surgery 'such a relief'

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Modern Family's Ariel Winter is proud to have undergone breast reduction surgery after dealing with physical, social and work-related issues.

The 17-year-old actress revealed to Glamour magazine why she chose to go under the knife in June, reducing her breast size from an F-cup to a D-cup. "[I] couldn't find a bathing suit that fit me," she said of the shopping trip that made her decide on surgery. "I really felt bad about myself. I didn't feel happy," she said.

But it wasn't only scant wardrobe choices that led the young, emancipated star to decide on the surgery. "I had a lot of back problems. I really couldn't stand up straight for a long period of time," she told the magazine. "It started to hurt so bad that I couldn't take the pain."

On top of physical pain, Winter experienced issues in her career. She explained that on set at Modern Family, she had to wear oversized clothes and even get "strapped down" in order to play teenager Alex Dunphy.

"Once I developed, I couldn't really play 12 or 13 or 14 anymore," she said of the ages she could play after filling out. "They'd want to send me out for 18 or 19, but the problem with 18 or 19 is that I'm not 18 yet. So why would they hire me when they could hire someone that was 18 or 19?"

Winter expresses relief after the reduction surgery, which she didn't tell her estranged mother about. "It was such a quick recovery for me," she said. "I was up and running within five days. The feeling of not having so much there was such a relief."

"You feel like a new person. You feel like this is how I was supposed to be."

In an Instagram post Wednesday, Winter thanked a long list of supporters including the magazine, her boyfriend and family members. "I feel so blessed that you gave me a chance to share my story," she said in the caption, directed at Glamour. "I am extremely humbled."

"Always make decisions because YOU want to," she concluded, "and always do what makes YOU happy."