Meet Ariel Winter's New Boyfriend Luke Benward
Looks like there's a new celebrity couple in town.
Getty Images It looks like we may have a brand new celebrity couple on our hands — this time including a certain Modern Family star. Who is Luke Benward?
Over the weekend, reports surfaced claiming that Ariel Winter is seeing Dumplin’ star Luke Benward, just four months after she split with her longtime boyfriend Levi Meaden. Winter and Benward were spotted out together at Delilah in West Hollywood, and in the paparazzi pics, his arm is around her waist. Looks pretty flirty!
So far, the actor and Winter have been keeping things on the DL, but at this point, it sounds like there could be potential for a serious relationship there.
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1. Who is Luke Benward? He's an actor.
Fans will probably recognize this 24-year-old from Dumplin’, his roles in Minutemen or the 2006 movie How to Eat Fried Worms. And as far as his Instagram goes, it seems that when he’s not acting, he loves travel, photography, and spending time with his friends.
2. Winter and Benward were friends first before they started dating.
According to a source close to the new potential couple, they’ve been friends for years, but recently, the vibe between them changed.
“Ariel never anticipated for any romantic feelings to develop with Luke, but things unexpectedly changed very gradually over the past few months between them,” the insider said. “Ariel has been such close friends with Luke for years and never looked at him as anything more than a friend.”
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3. Benward supported Winter through her breakup.
Being that she and Meaden were together for three years, it had to be tough when it all came to an end, and the source says that Benward was there for Winter when she needed him the most.
“Luke was really there for Ariel and she was able to lean on him for support. Things just shifted and it happened very organically. Neither of them expected it to happen, but it just did. Ariel is still on really good terms with Levi, but she’s open to seeing where things go with Luke,” said the source.
4. Benward and Winter are not social media official — yet.
So far, neither of them has posted photos of the other on Instagram, which is normally a tell-tale sign that a celebrity couple means business. However, it seems like things are still pretty new between them, so maybe after the holidays, fans will get a peek into their relationship.
For now, though, Benward and Winter are both keeping up the appearance of being single.
5. Winter thinks Benward is a “breath of fresh air.”
“She is taking things as they come and is looking forward to riding out the holidays with him and seeing what it could become,” the inside source added. “So far so good as everything seems to be working out really will between the two. All of her friends can see that she is pretty happy with everything which makes them happy themselves.”
It’s good to hear that Winter is happy — in the end, that’s all that matters (even if it’s pretty clear they would make an adorable couple).
6. For now, it looks like Winter is mostly focused on herself.
And after ending a long-term relationship, that’s a good thing. On Instagram, she’s all about her friends, her family, and filming the final season of Modern Family.
Time will tell if Winter and Benward end up sticking around for a couple. For now, though, it sounds like they’re both pretty happy taking things slow.
Nicole Pomarico is an entertainment and lifestyle writer whose work has appeared in Cosmo, Us Weekly, Refinery29, and more.