Haley from Modern Family was renowned for her relationships, but Haley’s final romance ruined the development her character had made. Haley (Sarah Hyland) went from a popular high schooler to an adult confused about where she wanted her career to go in Modern Family and had plenty of learning moments along the way. Haley is the oldest of the Dunphy children and often tormented her younger siblings, Alex (Ariel Winter) and Luke (Nolan Gould), but Haley was also very supportive and offered advice from her own experiences, particularly dating advice.
Haley’s own dating life was very varied throughout the documentary-style Modern Family, with on-and-off high school boyfriend Dylan (Reid Ewing) being the most frequent one. Haley and Dylan’s relationship was also meant to represent Haley’s parents, Claire (Julie Bowen) and Phil’s (Ty Burrell), relationship as Claire’s father Jay (Ed O’Neill), never liked Phil the same way Claire never liked Dylan. Although Haley and Dylan’s relationship was prominent in Modern Family, it was also mostly used as a joke and never seemed very serious. Haley dated a range of men, including a famous weatherman. All of that developed her character in fun but sometimes serious ways, yet she finally ended up with Dylan.
Haley’s Relationship Ending Ruined Her Character Development
Haley and Dylan ended up back together for the ending of Modern Family and this final relationship ruined her character by regressing her development. Haley and Dylan always had a loving relationship, but it was never very deep and never developed Haley’s selfish or vain attitude like some of the others did. Dylan was often the butt of the joke in the Dunphy household too which often meant Haley was as the rest of the family just expected her to make dumb decisions and not amount to anything. Haley and Dylan ended up having a surprise pregnancy and welcomed twins, which took away from Haley’s storyline of becoming independent.
Haley definitely did not need to go through the traditional route of college, job, husband, and children formula, and it was refreshing that she did not. However, Haley’s growth before Modern Family was canceled showed how clever she was and how many layers her character actually had. Haley started to have some deep, self-reflecting moments that showed her insecurities but putting Haley back with Dylan took that away. Especially as their dependence on Claire and Phil was amplified, and Haley’s character development took a step back to accommodate for jokes in Modern Family.
Haley Should Have Ended Up With Andy In Modern Family
Andy (Adam DeVine) should have been Haley’s final relationship in Modern Family, and not just because he was a fan favorite. Andy was the first time Haley showed any emotion about love and became a lot less selfish because of him, taking a step back when she realized he was with someone else. Also, Andy, recognizable from the Pitch Perfect cast, was the first time Haley let herself be treated right, breaking up with “bad boy” Scott (Adam Hagenbuch) because he would not treat Haley as Andy did. Andy was a big chapter for Haley where audiences got to see a more layered version of her character, and the first time Haley seemed truly in love.
Andy and Haley as a couple were also big fan favorites, and it was disappointing that he was not brought back, especially when it seemed like they had unfinished business. Andy played such a big part in Haley’s character development that Dylan was never able to, so putting Haley back with Dylan seemed to regress all the development that took Haley from a vain teenager to a maturing adult. Even if Haley did not end up with Andy in Modern Family, which will not have season 12, to stay true to Haley’s character development, Haley still should not have ended up with Dylan.