AceShowbiz -

Sarah Hyland has broken her silence on her abusive ex-boyfriend, Matt Prokop, in an interview with Meredith Vieira. Meredith, who was also a victim of abuse in her 20s, asked Sarah how she had coped with her experience.

The 23-year-old actress then cited two quotes. "There are two quotes that I want to say," the "Modern Family" star said, "One is a Dylan Thomas poem: 'Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light,' which is one of my favorite poems. It just strikes a chord in me; and also Robert Frost: 'The only way out is through.' "

Sarah then added, "People have to go through things in order to become the person they are today, and that's that."

During the interview, Meredith told Sarah, "I related to your story because I was exactly your age, 23, when I went through something similar. And I actually talked about it on this show, and I don't talk about it a lot, but I did it because, in part, I wanted people to know that you're not alone, which is important, and that you can come through adversity and be stronger on the other side. That's possible."

Earlier this month, Sarah was granted a three-year restraining order against Matt, who allegedly choked her, pushed her and threatened her life. Matt was ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from Sarah, her house and her dog. He was also not allowed to go near Sarah's workplace, own gun or ammunition as well as threaten or attack her dog in any way.

Sarah, who began dating Matt in 2009, first met him while auditioning for "High School Musical 3: Senior Year". In 2011, they starred together in Disney Channel's movie "Geek Charming". They lived together from 2011 until their break-up in August.