‘Modern Family’s Julie Bowen & Ty Burrell Reunite on Dylan Dreyer’s Podcast

The Today host jokingly described Bowen as her “future” self, as the actress is also the mother of three boys. Bowen shares her teenage sons — Oliver, John, and Gustav Phillips — with her ex-husband, Scott Phillips. Dreyer, for her part, shares her three young sons — Calvin, Oliver, and Rusty — with her estranged husband, Brian Fichera. (Dreyer announced the pair’s separation in July 2025 and officially filed for divorce in March).

Burrell may have played a parent of three on Modern Family, but in real life, he shares his two daughters, Frances and Greta, with his wife, Holly. (Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter, and Nolan Gould notably played Burrell and Bowen’s kids on the small screen.)

“They’ve been through a lot of changes. They’ve seen their kids go from those cuddly, little children into those bigger teenagers, who maybe don’t talk to you as much,” Dreyer said of their discussion at the top of the episode. “I love their perspective on change and how important it is to who you’re going to become.”

On the podcast, Bowen recalled filming the Modern Family pilot while pregnant with her twins, John and Gustav. “Did you put weird things in front of your belly to hide the fact?” Bowen replied, “Yeah. And if you look back, you can see there’s a lot of me peeking around doors. And Nolan, who played Luke, was my baby blocker, ‘cause he came up to just the right height.”

When asked if she was nervous her pregnancy would affect her role in the pilot, Bowen told Dreyer, “No. I was like, ‘Just give me a job. I don’t care what job.’ I wanted this job, I really wanted this job, but no. I also couldn’t wait to get those [kids out]. I love my children, but I like them better out than in. They were like, ‘Take it easy. You’ve got twins.’ I was going to IKEA and lifting boxes, anything. Just, like, ‘Let’s go.’ I was ready for them to be out.”

The pair also opened up about balancing parenting while starring on the ABC series. “We were so lucky because our job was incredibly civilized. During that stretch, I mean, we were sort of the envy of the Fox lot,” Burrell shared, noting that the Modern Family cast had good working hours. Bowen added, “People would stop us and be like, ‘Hey. Is it true you guys wrap at lunch?’”

Burrell went on to note that he was almost always home for dinner with his family after a day of filming. “It absolutely spoiled me and all of us, I think.”

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