Modern Family's Julie Bowen Shares Update On Divorce-Bound Sofia Vergara, And Has A Big Compliment For Her Former Co-Star's Dancing Skills

Screenshot of Claire and Gloria in Modern Family
(Image credit: Hulu)

Among the higher-profile Hollywood divorces currently at play, from Kevin Costner’s split with Christine Baumgartner to Britney Spears and Sam Asghario’s rapidly imploding relationship, one of the less dramatic partings has been that of Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello. While the rumor mill pointed to the issues that likely led to the impending divorce, the situation is seemingly being handled with amicability. And someone who excels at being amicable is Modern Family vet Julie Bowen, who shared both updates and compliments about her former co-star.

News of Vergara and Manganiello’s break-up hit in mid-July, in the midst of the former’s Italy vacation, and while he’s been largely absent from the public eye and social media, she’s had her share of fun times in the intervening weeks. And Julie Bowen doubled down on the idea that Vergara is taking the divorce proceedings with the same confidence and grace, and spoke to the possibility of the America’s Got Talent judge bouncing back with another romance. Here’s how she put it when talking to E! News:

Everything she does, she does with grace. And she rises above and she just goes forward. She's warm and generous and giving to everybody around her. I have no doubt that if she wishes to be in a relationship she will be but she sure don't need one.

All things considered, fans probably shouldn’t expect Sofia Vergara to dive right back into any super-serious relationships, even after her divorce from Joe Manganiello is finalized. Some of the factors behind their split were reportedly tied to her being an outgoing social butterfly who isn’t ready to have more children, while he was the opposite, so she might be more interested in more casual connections over anything serious. If she is, one can expect her to handle it with the same grace and warmth as everything else.

And fans would no doubt love to see Vergara casually partying down with Julie Bowen at some point, even if their fictional beaus are nowhere around. The voice actress would apparently love for that to be the case as well, although she verbally bowed down to Vergara as being the far more qualified dancing queen of the two, saying:

I would like that very much. Oh, but she would be so mad at me because I can't dance. She's such a good dancer. She just does this slow hip roll for hours. And that's a lot of what hanging out with her is—it's slow rolling it for a long time. . . . We're gonna have to see [when we'll get together again], she's been traveling a lot and so was I. We have to wait for the summer to cool down.

Now I kinda need to see the Colombian actress slow-rolling her hip as she goes through her normal daily life, even if further dancing isn’t overtly involved. And then her movements could inspire others to join in, and then it becomes this giant, city-spanning conga line of people slow-rolling their hips hypnotically as they move forward. I may have taken this too far. 

Perhaps the two Modern Family vets can hit the dance floor whenever Vergara’s upcoming crime drama Griselda, which will be her first major scripted role following her many years as Gloria Pratchett. It’s set to hit streaming at some point in late 2023 for those with Netflix subscriptions, so keep an eye out for that one. Meanwhile, Julie Bowen’s voicework can be heard as the loving mom in Disney Channel’s fun and funny animated series Hailey’s On It, which can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.