Haley Dunphy is the eldest of the kids on Modern Family, so we had the privilege of watching her hit all those teenage and adult milestones before the rest of the clan. As the daughter of Phil and Claire Dunphy and the sister to Alex and Luke, Haley is different from the rest of the characters.
When we take a step back and look at Modern Family, each character is so unique in their own way. They have their highs and their lows; their passions and their downfalls. For Haley, her life choices are almost a spitting image of her mother’s. She’s the wild child who barely made it out of high school and then got kicked out of college. But through all of Haley’s mess-ups is a good heart. She may be superficial and act ditzy but when she’s inspired by something she goes all the way. But we’re not looking at what drives Haley today. No, today we’re looking at 10 of her greatest mess-ups.
SHE GOT ARRESTED
Early on in the fourth season, we learn that Haley has been arrested. Phil and Claire wake up to a phone call in the middle of the night where they were informed that their daughter was in custody. They then had to scramble to find arrangements for Alex and Luke while they hit the road in the middle of the night.
What’s hardest about Haley getting arrested (due to underage drinking and assaulting a police officer) is that she didn’t see it as a big deal, nor did she thank her parents for coming to bail her out in the middle of the night. She seemed careless and unthankful for her dedicated and loving parents.
AND THE GOT KICKED OUT OF COLLEGE
Unfortunately for Haley, her arrest affected her education in a big way. Since the house party that was busted was on school property, Haley had to plead her case to her university’s board. And although she took full responsibility for what happened, she also admitted other things that didn’t relate to the case that ended up hurting her. She was not an exemplary student that the school was proud of having. Because of her arrest and poor decision making, Haley was kicked out.
SHE SLEPT WITH ANDY WHILE HE WAS STILL ENGAGED
Every Modern Family fan wanted Haley and Andy to end up together. Haley may have acted like her mother when she was younger but Andy had the exact same personality as her dad, which is what made this couple work! Sadly, Andy moved back to Utah and this couple ended.
However, before these two started dating and had an epic love story, they started hooking up while Andy was still with Beth — his fiance! The two were friends for a long time before they started hooking up but it’s not cool to be the mistress, Haley.
AND SHE KISSED DYLAN WHEN WITH ARVIN
It appears that Haley can’t help herself when it comes to handsome boys and getting what she wants. She and Arvin hit it off after meeting on Alex’s campus and it was one of the most mature relationships she ever had. But who came sneaking back into Haley’s life? Dylan. Dylan will always be in the background for Haley whenever a flavor of the month doesn’t work out. And while she was with Arvin, she kissed Dylan. Knowing her heart was torn, fans knew she had a big decision to make but it still isn’t cool to cheat on your boyfriend (or be the other woman).
SHE WAS TEXTING THROUGH PHIL’S BIG AWARD SHOW
As a realtor, Phil loves what he does. He has a deep fondness for selling people their dream homes and it’s because of his fondness that he was asked to be the host of that year’s realtor gala. Instead of bringing Claire, Phil asked Haley to be his date.
In the back of his mind, he could totally see Haley getting into real estate one day. However, instead of sitting in the audience laughing and cheering on her dad, she was on her phone texting. Phil noticed Haley wasn’t paying attention to his show and it hurt him deeply, which led him to butchering his segment and getting injured.
DRANK UNDERAGED WHILE ON VACATION IN HAWAII
When the entire family decides to go on a group vacation to Hawaii, you know it’s going to be a good episode. With Haley, Alex, Luke, Manny, and Lily being so young, the parents had to find their own space to be able to actually enjoy Hawaii. In Haley’s eyes, her mom being MIA meant she got to do whatever she wanted. She ended up meeting a bunch of kids her own age who were drinking and she had way too much to drink. What came after was a bunch of puking and Haley’s first hangover. I don’t want to say she ruined the vacation but she certainly validated why Claire was panicking the entire holiday.
SHE LIED ABOUT WORKING AS A WAITRESS
It’s always been hard for Haley to keep a job. She’s gorgeous, sure, but she gets bored easily and doesn’t seem to care about the outcome or how it affects other people.
In the episode “Regrets Only,” Haley tries to prove to her parents that she’s responsible, so she pretends to be waitressing at a local restaurant. But when her family shows up at said restaurant to surprise her at work, she does everything in her power to look like she’s working there. She puts on a white shirt and places her family’s order as her own… Alex catches on to Haley’s sly fake job but she went through far too much effort just to lie about a job.
EVERY TIME SHE TRIED SNEAKING OUT OF THE HOUSE
Claire is a loving mom but she’s a strict mom. Knowing how bad of a child she was when she was younger, she tried her best to make sure her three kids were nothing like her. Unfortunately for Claire, Haley was almost exactly like her. She tried sneaking out of Claire’s embrace and her home every chance she got. She came home past curfew one night when Phil was still awake (and pretended she was awake because she wanted to show him her outfit for the next day), she tried sneaking out of Jay’s house when she was supposed to be bonding with him, and she even tried sneaking out when there was an earthquake and her mom was stuck in the bathroom!
SHE THREW A PARTY WHEN HER PARENTS WERE CELEBRATING VALENTINE’S DAY
In the fourth season, we learn that Claire had an undiagnosed heart problem in the episode “Heart Broken.” In a classic Phil and Claire moment, the two were out celebrating Valentine’s Day when Claire fainted. Phil, of course, thought she fainted because of his dashing good looks but it was really her heart. She wakes up in the hospital and the two head home to recover. When they head home, however, they hear a party erupting downstairs. Phil finds Haley and co. throwing a banger after thinking her parents weren’t home.
WHEN SHE CARED MORE ABOUT HER CELLPHONE THAN HER SISTER
In the 11th episode of the sixth season, the Dunphy family and Manny almost got into a car accident that rocked their world. Everyone in the car came out of that accident with a new outlook on life. Haley and Alex lunged for each other and hugged out of emotion. In the middle of that hug, Haley said: “Oh God, I thought I lost you!” Alex took it as a term of endearment and saw her sister in a new light. But as it turned out, Haley wasn’t talking to Alex — she was talking to her cell phone.
