14 DAY TRIAL // Sarah Hyland, the 23-year-old star of “Modern Family,” has obtained a temporary restraining against her ex-boyfriend Matthew Prokop, who also appeared on the show but is more famous for his role in the Disney comedy “Geek Charming,” on whose set he first met Sarah.
That was in 2008 and it is believed they started dating shortly afterwards. In recent years, the romance took a very violent turn, with Sarah writing in court documents that he would often abuse her physically and verbally in the final 4 years they were together.
They broke up this summer and Prokop is now out of rehab, which is why the actress has filed for the temporary restraining order.
Hyland knew she was in an abusive relationship but couldn’t leave
This is the first time that the details of their split emerge online and they’re nothing short of chilling. Hyland’s fans would have probably never got wind of them if it hadn’t been for the court documents obtained by TMZ.
The actress went to great lengths to detail several incidents that made her feel as if her life was in danger, to convince the judge to grant her the restraining order. On one occasion, for instance, Prokop pinned her to a car in a heated argument on her choice for an outfit on that day, and strangled her with such force she was left with a sore throat for some time.
As he did that, he kept yelling obscenities at her, which we can’t reproduce here. “His grip was so tight that I could not breathe or speak. I was scared and in fear for my life,” Sarah writes.
Hyland claims that she turned to actress Julie Bowen, who plays her mother on the comedy series, to help her end the relationship in a “peaceful” way.
So, on another instance, she bought him a plane ticket in the hope that he would go back and leave her alone, after they broke up; instead of taking her up on her offer, he stormed out and caused quite a scene in the backyard. He also hit her with a lighter.
This is when Bowen told her to find a safe place to move into, because she was not safe around Prokop. The actress admits to knowing all along that she was in an abusive relationship.
Ex was in rehab but is showing signs of wanting to get back with Hyland
In August, Matthew Prokop checked into rehab, the same media outlet reports. It doesn’t say what he was seeking treatment for, but there’s an understanding it was for his violent outbursts towards Sarah.
The problem is that he completed his program and is showing no intention of leaving her alone, because he’s been calling her all throughout his stay at the center, “relentlessly bombarded [her] with vile, threatening and emotionally disturbing texts and voice mails including his own suicide threats,” as per the court documents.
Prokop’s supervisor at the clinic called her when he was released, to advise her to get the restraining order, if only as a precautionary measure. A judge granted it to her, so he can’t come close to her without risking jail – at least for a while.