PS: Wells asked your "Modern Family," as well as your real family, for permission to propose to you. Did they also get to weigh in on the ring?
SH: I think Wells talked to one of his sisters and one of his brothers about it, but I don't know if he showed anybody the ring. I know he didn't show my parents because when he asked for both of their blessings, he hadn't gotten the ring yet. But everyone knew what kind of ring I wanted.
PS: What other similarities do you have to Haley Dunphy?
SH: We both love lots of heels — anything that will make you tall. I also think it's crazy that [my great-great grandmother] Leona Hawkins was a hat milliner and her sister was a doctor. That's very similar to Haley and Alex [played by Ariel Winter, above], even though Haley and Alex aren't real people. It just goes to show that that type of sister dynamic really does come from a place of truth.
PS: Did Wells know more about his own family history, or the Dunphy family's?
SH: Originally, he knew more about the Dunphy family history than his own. But that's also very common with people. Most people know more about TV families than their own. I was told Ancestry performed a survey and nearly half of people can't even name all four of their grandparents. Wells thinks that's because most people have pet names for their grandparents, like Papa, so they never learn their real names.
