Modern Family stars Julie Bowen and Sofía Vergara have always been super close friends. But sadly, over the years that they were shooting the ABC sitcom, they were repeatedly rumored to be feuding.
Back in 2013, Julie denied the speculation that there was any tension between herself and Sofía. “You can't have two females on a show without wondering if there's some sort of rivalry,” she said before heaping praise on to Sofía’s personality.
Three years later, Julie addressed the feud rumors yet again during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “Every night I get a call or email that says, ‘So-and-so trash mag will be running a story that you are icy to Sofía Vergara because you are jealous of her fame,” she said before revealing that the pair privately discussed how to handle the relentless speculation.
And alongside the feud rumors, Julie and Sofía have long been pitted against each other by some fans of Modern Family who critically compare their looks and personalities.
This week, Julie appeared on Jennie Garth’s I Choose Me podcast and recalled how “determined” the press were to fuel rumors of a rivalry between her and Sofía.
“They were just determined to pit us against each other, like we hated each other,” Julie said.
“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... She is funny and self-effacing and bawdy, and she loves life, and she loves dancing and eating cake and all these things,’” she continued.
Julie noted that she found the constant feud speculation incredibly “disappointing.”
“I found that to be really disappointing on the part of the press, but I just never fed into that,” she said. “That's a scarcity mindset, and there's no such thing as, if one woman's doing well, that means others have to step back. I can't support that.”