Sarah Hyland gets 3 year restraining order: nobody knew the extent of his abuse

Sarah Hyland has been granted a three year restraining order against her ex of five years, Matthew Prokop, who was released from rehab in late September. The director of Prokop’s rehab recommended that Hyland get a restraining order for her own safety. In her request for a restraining order, Hyland detailed a pattern of abuse that escalated from verbal and emotional abuse to physical abuse and threatening to burn down her home and harm her dog. Hyland was previously granted a temporary restraining order, and a judge has just made that somewhat permanent, extending the order to three years.

US Weekly has a cover story on Hyland this week, and it includes some sad details that were not revealed in earlier coverage. They quote sources who claim that Hyland hid the abuse, which is very typical of victims, and that even her close friends and family didn’t know how bad it was. Here are some quotes from the US story that were not covered in our report on the restraining order:

Prokop got incredibly jealous after they moved in together in 2010
“He got incredibly jealous when she would go out by herself or meet up with her friends,” says the show source. “He was constantly texting, trying to find out who she was with.”

He was resentful of her career
“He was really frustrated [that his career was floundering]… “it fueled his anger.”

She hid the abuse
“She internalized a lot,” says the show source. “Nobody knew the extent of his abuse. It’s surprising how well she hid what she was going through.”

Some of Hyland’s friends suspected something
“He was quiet and surly, like a teenage boy,” says one pal. “I remember a couple of times Sarah disappeared to talk on the phone and came back looking like she had been crying. I chalked it up to a young, dramatic relationship.” Seconds another Hyland source: “There were plenty of people who didn’t like Matt.”

[From US Magazine, print edition, October 13, 2014]

The article concludes with the fact that Hyland is doing well now and that she “just wants to leave this situation behind her.” She seems like a strong, upbeat person and that’s good news that she was able to make her restraining order permanent. I hope that she feels safe and that she’s able to move on. I also wonder if she’ll talk about what she went through at some point. Maybe she’s doing that with this US article, and isn’t ready to give a direct interview yet.

Photos courtesy of WENN

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmbHFhZX91e9KaqZqgj53Gra3NnZagnaSorLGx0aaYp52eqayzsdKtqZqhnp67qKvOq5ueqo%2BjvKO7w7KWpKaVrKy1tMSYnLGslaPBoLvFmJ%2Biq4%2BWr7a%2FxGg%3D