Julie Bowen Recalls Being 'Pit Against' Sofía Vergara During Modern Family Days: 'Never Fed Into That'

Julie Bowen and Sofía Vergara have always been as thick as thieves – though Bowen felt the public tried to undermine their friendship.

The actress reflected on the pressure she felt between the pair during their Modern Family days on the 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, 54, said, referring to the dynamic between Garth and the late Shannen Doherty during their time on Beverly Hills, 90210.

"They were just determined to pit us against each other, like we hated each other," she continued of Vergara, 52. "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 said of the faux feud. "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. It's – I can't support that."

Bowen added that she "learned so much from being around [Vergara] about what it is to be a really powerful, completely in herself woman."

The pressure she felt to have some kind of feud with Vergara dates back to the early days of Modern Family.

In 2016, during an appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show, Bowen said that the story of that week was that she was "icy to Sofía Vergara because [she's] jealous of her fame."

“So I email her last night and then we talk and I’m like, ‘What should I say?’ Because we’re friends. I’m like, ‘What should I say? You’re funny,’” Bowen said of her conversation with Vergara.

The Griselda star then replied, “Please, just borrow my blouse,” so that's what Bowen did.

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The actress's friendship remains strong to this day. Last month, Vergara celebrated her 52nd birthday and Bowen paid tribute to her on Instagram, writing "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SOFIA!!! I’m sending you a hug with my giant man-arms. I love you!!❤️😘💕."

Vergara reposted the photo – a shot from her 2015 Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony – to her Instagram Stories, writing over it, “I looov you."