Throughout the family's emancipation drama, perhaps one of the biggest betrayals—in Winter's eyes, at least—was her mother's decision to appear on Dr. Phil.
In September 2013, Workman told the TV therapist that the alleged abuse was nothing more than typical mother and daughter disagreements. She also pointed out that despite being investigated three times, "including two by the Department of Children and Family Services...all three have been dismissed without taking action." Workman even trotted out a supposed childhood friend of Winter, named Katia, who said the abuse rumors were untrue and she "admired" Winter's mom, and hoped "to one day grow up and be similar to her."
Nearly three years later, Winter finally spoke about her mom's Dr. Phil appearance, telling ABC News, "Well, the thing is it's really hard to talk about...because it was really painful for me to watch my mom go on news outlets and go on (the "Dr. Phil Show") and kind of spread things everywhere—when it's really just private, family business."
