Julie Bowen has a new boyfriend — but she’s keeping the details of their relationship close to her chest.
“I have a lovely friend,” Bowen, 56, told People at Step Up’s 2026 Annual Inspiration Awards in Los Angeles on Friday, September 25.
Though the Modern Family alum is choosing to keep her new man’s identity a secret for now, she dished that he’s “smart and funny.”
“I need smart and funny. Those are the two [characteristics I look for in a partner],” she told the outlet. “I don’t care what people look like — though he happens to be good-looking. But I don’t care what people look like. I like the brains.”
Bowen was previously married to real estate entrepreneur Scott Phillips from 2004 to 2018. The exes share son Oliver, 19, and twin boys John and Gustav, 17.
Back in September 2025, the Happy Gilmore actress got emotional as she celebrated her eldest child going off to college.
“Sweet Baby Oliver … you were born 5 minutes ago, so how can I possibly be leaving you at college?” she wrote at the time. “You made me a mother, and I learned more (and been humbled more) from being your mom for the past 18 years than I could ever have imagined.”
Bowen continued, “Now I have to learn to do the hardest thing a parent has the privilege of doing and let you go. No, it’s NOT forever, but it’s the end of one big chapter, so — yeah — I’m going to cry. (I’m also 100 percent going to sit on your Dad’s shoulders to work on the lighting in your dorm room.) I love you, Monkey. Always No matter what. 💚💛.”
While speaking to Us at Friday’s awards show, Bowen — who is known for playing mom of three Claire Dunphy on Modern Family — shared an update on raising older teens.
From the beginning, fans fell in love with the cast of Modern Family — but they sure have changed over the past 13 years. When the series debuted, many of the cast members were so young that they ultimately grew up on screen. “There’s definitely one season for me when I hit puberty right when […]
“You know, it’s a lot harder than having fake children,” she joked. “Although my fake children were very good preparation, I have to say, they drive away, and you don’t know what’s happening, and it’s terrifying.”
Bowen continued, “I have to remind myself when I was 17, my parents had no idea where I was or what I was doing, and I turned out OK. So it’s a lot of family dinners, a lot of begging them to talk to me. It sometimes feels like an abusive relationship with people that never pick up the check, but I love them so much, and if they’re happy, I’m good.”
