Julie Bowen Addresses ‘Modern Family’ Feud Rumors, Says She and Sofía Vergara Were ‘Pit Against’ Each Other

It’s nothing but love between Julie Bowen and Sofía Vergara, even if the Modern Family co-stars have been the subject of feud rumors for years. Bowen, 54, addressed the pressure she felt being pitted against Vergara, 52, in the press during their time on the hit sitcom during the Wednesday, Aug. 14 episode of Jennie Garth’s I Choose Me podcast.

“I felt it on Modern Family. The press kept trying to make me and Sofia, sort of Betty and Veronica. And I know they did that with you and Shannen. I mean, I remember it,” Bowen said, referencing the relationship between Garth and her late Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Shannen Doherty during their time on the teen show.

“They were just determined to pit us against each other like we hated each other,” she continued of Vergara. “It’s this scarcity mindset that only one woman can be happy at a time. And I was like, ‘Oh, no. I love Sofía, and I love how different we are. And I love – she is funny and self-effacing and bawdy, and she loves life, and she loves dancing and eating cake and all these things.’”

“I found that to be really disappointing on the part of the press, but I just never fed into that,” Bowen added of the feud rumors that followed her and Vergara for years. “That’s a scarcity mindset, and there’s no such thing as, like, oh, if one woman’s doing well, that means others have to step back. I can’t support that.”

Bowen had nothing but kind words about Vergara, saying she “learned so much” from being around her during the Modern Family run and “what it is to be a really powerful, completely in herself woman.”

To this day, Bowen and Vergara show their love for one another. As the Griselda star celebrated her 52nd birthday last month, Bowen shared a throwback photo from Vergara’s 2015 Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony, which she paired with a sweet birthday message. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SOFIA!!! I’m sending you a hug with my giant man-arms,” she joked. “I love you!!” Vergara soon reposted the photo on her Instagram Story, writing over it, “I looov you.”