Sarah Hyland made a bachelor her prince charming after saying goodbye to her geek charming.
Hyland's Modern Family character, Haley Dunphy, had a way easier love life (sort of) compared to her offscreen counterpart. Hyland hasn't always had the best luck when it comes to guys. In fact, many people probably don't know that she experienced a horribly abusive relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Matt Prokop, for four years.
Thankfully, she got out of the relationship and was fortunate to enter into a healthy one with The Bachelorette's Wells Adams in 2018. They're honestly couple goals, and we are thrilled they tied the knot in August 2022. Before Adams popped the question in July 2019, he even asked Hyland's onscreen mom, Julie Bowen, for permission to marry her. How sweet is that?
But what happened to Prokop after his relationship with Hyland and his career disintegrated?
Updated on December 30, 2022: Matt Prokop has continued to stay out of the spotlight. He rarely updates his social media and has been cast out of Hollywood for roughly a decade. Sarah Hyland, on the other hand, has happily moved on.
Not only has she expanded her resume this year thanks to the podcast series Bone, Marry, Bury, the film My Fake Boyfriend, and joining the TV series alongside her old costar Adam Devine for Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin, but she and Wells Adams finally got married in August after having to postpone the wedding multiple times due to COVID.
Things Ended Poorly Between Prokop & Hyland
Hyland met Prokop on the Disney TV movie Geek Charming in 2011, just a year after she debuted as Hayley on Modern Family. While Hyland was making a name for herself in the sitcom world, Prokop was making a name for himself as a teen idol through Disney.
He went on to star as Troy McCann in one episode of Hannah Montana in 2006 and played Jimmie Zara in High School Musical 3: Senior Year in 2008.
Eventually, they started living together and got a Maltipoo named Barkley Bixby. Things became even more serious when Propkop guest-starred on Modern Family in 2012. He appeared in Season 3, Episode 22, and played Hayley's love interest, Ethan.
It might have seemed like they were the perfect couple, but it was the complete opposite behind the scenes. After four years of dating, the couple split in 2014.
In August of that year, we found out that this wasn't a normal breakup. Hyland got a three-year temporary restraining order against Prokop, claiming he'd been physically and verbally abusive towards her during their relationship.
The official legal documents stated Prokop "terrorized [Sarah] both verbally and physically during the last four years of their relationship." Hyland also claimed that Prokop had choked her so tightly that she "could not breathe or speak" during one particular fight and that he'd threatened to hurt her and their dog on more than one occasion.
The actual breakup was more intense than we thought, too. According to Life & Style, Hyland asked her onscreen mom, Julie Bowen, to be there with her when she told Prokop she was ending things. But when the actor figured out what was happening, he allegedly "threatened to set one of [Sarah’s] homes on fire and threatened that she would never see her dog (Barkley) again."
Thankfully, Hyland was able to secure a permanent restraining order against Prokop, so he's no longer able to have any contact with her at all.
"People have to go through things in order to become the person that they are today," Hyland told Meredith Vieira shortly after the couple broke up.
"My type is people who make me laugh," Hyland told Life & Style when asked about her perfect man. "I don’t think it’s so much about looks. It’s about personality, honestly — a sense of humor, sincerity, ambition, and drive."
Fortunately, Hyland moved on from Prokop pretty quickly. She dated her Vampire Academy and Shadowhunters co-star Dominic Sherwood for two years, but they amicably split in 2017. That same year, she started dating Wells Adams, and the rest is history.
Prokop's Career Went Down The Toilet
As you can probably imagine, Hollywood, especially Disney, closed its doors to Prokop as soon as the abuse allegations were revealed. Since then, his career has gone down the proverbial toilet.
He hasn't appeared in any film or TV projects since 2013. His last acting credit was for 2013's April Apocalypse. His social media seems to be a little dead as well, as his last post was in December 2021. It looks like he's in another relationship, but it's unclear whether he's still with his girlfriend.
It's no surprise that Prokop has virtually disappeared off the face of the Earth. Some might even say good riddance, and that it might have been better for all parties involved if Prokop just went away. Unfortunately, the battle scars are still there.
Hyland spoke with Refinery29 last year about the lasting effects of surviving a toxic relationship.
"A lot of people like to think that once you’re out of an abusive situation, it ends there, but it doesn’t. The emotional trauma and scars on the soul stay there, and they impact you for the rest of your life if you don’t get help," she said.
"I still find myself being like, 'Oh, why did I just explode out of nowhere?' I realize it’s tied to certain things, and it’s an endless battle of correcting yourself and having self-love."
Maybe it took so long for her to put it all behind her because Prokop "relentlessly bombarded [her] with vile, threatening and emotionally disturbing texts and voice mails including his own suicide threats." It took a lot of heartbreak, but at least Hyland's found her soul mate finally.