Modern Family star comes out as gay, has body dysmorphia

Modern Family actor Reid Ewing has revealed that he is gay, after writing an article about his struggle with body dysmorphic disorder.

Ewing, 27, is best known for playing the recurring guest role of Haley’s dopey boyfriend Dylan in the popular American comedy series.

In a piece for Huffington Post, Ewing said he first became obsessed with his looks when he came to LA to become an actor, and was convinced that he was “ugly.”

“In 2008, when I was 19 years old, I made my first appointment to meet with a cosmetic surgeon. I genuinely believed if I had one procedure I would suddenly look like Brad Pitt,” he said.

Ewing went on to describe the disturbing after-effects of this and numerous other surgical procedures he underwent in a desperate bid to look like the ephemeral “ideal” man he wanted to be.

In 2012, after facing isolation, disappointment and depression, he finally vowed to stop. “Before seeking to change your face, you should question whether it is your mind that needs fixing,” said Ewing.

“Plastic surgery is not always a bad thing. It often helps people who actually need it for serious cases, but it’s a horrible hobby, and it will eat away at you until you have lost all self-esteem and joy. I wish I could go back and undo all the surgeries. Now I can see that I was fine to begin with and didn’t need the surgeries after all,” he wrote.

It was while commenting on the article on Twitter that the actor also confirmed that he is gay.

Ewing tweeted that he thought that a young man, Eugene Bata, who appeared in a segment about body dysmorphia on Good Morning America was “hot.”

When a fan asked Ewing, “Did you also just out yourself?” he replied, “I was never in.”

He later noted wryly: “Writes a cosmetic surgery article, people care more that I’m gay…”

Watch Ewing talk about body dysmorphic disorder below.