‘Modern Family’ Reveals Which Kids Are Moving out in a Heartfelt Series Finale

Now that the Modern Family series finale has concluded the story of the Pritchett/Dunphy/Tucker clan, some families have grown. Others, however, got a little smaller. At the behest of the Dunphy parents, no less.

Much of the plot focused on Phil (Ty Burrell) and Claire (Julie Bowen) after they decided that one of their kids needs to move out, allowing them control of their home once again. They brought it up with Haley (Sarah Hyland), Alex (Ariel Winter) and Luke (Nolan Gould), but they each had a very specific reason as to why it couldn’t be them. That all changed when suddenly they each had their own reasons why they should be the ones to move out. Which led to Phil and Claire dealing with a delayed case of empty nest syndrome.

Not long after, Claire had gone into full-on denial that her kids were leaving. Then, after the three kids got together to recreate a childhood video for their parents, the reality began to sink in. They’ve grown up and are getting ready to move on. As the last of their boxes were hauled out and their rooms sat empty, Phil proposed a romantic venture with Claire, although it was in a cross-country RV road trip.

As Phil and Claire exited the room, Claire started to cry, and asked in sincerity what they were going to do. “We’ll leave the porch light on,” Phil tells her. “They’ll come back.”

During the Easter party in last week’s episode, Phil and Claire are forced to come to terms with their new role as grandparents before realize that their skills as parents were still in need. It just appears that now they feel they can apply those skills from a considerable distance from their kids.

To commemorate Wednesday’s finale, Winter posted a string of photos from across the show’s 11-season run on Tuesday, writing that it has been “an amazing journey with my #ModernFamily” in the caption. She added, “It’s hard to type this because it still doesn’t feel real.”

Unfortunately, there was a tragedy behind-the-scenes of the long-running sitcom. Beatrice, the bulldog who played Stella, passed away just days after filming the show’s series finale. She joined the cast in back in Season 4, replacing her predecessor, the French bulldog, Brigitte.