Tragic Details About Modern Family Star Julie Bowen's Divorce From Ex-Husband Scott

Throughout all 11 seasons of the beloved ABC sitcom "Modern Family," Julie Bowen starred as outspoken perfectionist and dedicated mom-of-three Claire Dunphy. Despite having to overcome some challenges, Claire and her lovably goofy husband Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell) managed to make their marriage last until the end of the series. But while Bowen's fictional romance ended up working out, the "Modern Family" star and her real-life partner ended up calling it quits after 13 years of marriage. Bowen filed for divorce from husband Scott Phillips in early 2018, with everything finalized later that same year. 

Although the finer details have mostly been kept under wraps, Bowen has occasionally opened up about how difficult their split was. In a 2016 interview with People, two years before she and Phillips broke up, the actor admitted that most of their lengthy relationship had become a blur in her mind. "Honestly I only remember up until we had the kids," she quipped adding, "Then you're like, 'What?' Twelve years. We've had children for nine. So I remember the first three years, the rest of it is like a blackout." Ironically, Bowen later confessed to Us Weekly that her three kids were among the few things keeping her grounded amid the legal proceedings regarding her separation from Phillips. 

As she explained, "The beauty of having three children is they don't give you much time for thinking. They're like a crash course in being in the now." Given her former husband's got a considerably more private career as a real estate investor, Phillips himself understandably does not appear to have commented publicly on the matter.

Going through the emotional stress of a divorce is never easy, even when the split itself is amicable. And although "Modern Family" star Julie Bowen confirmed to "All Good Things" podcast host Jason Nash in 2022 that she and ex-husband Scott Phillips were "chill" and still had a lot of respect for each other, she also made it clear on her own "Quitters" podcast that very same year that the experience was "really painful." Worse yet, the divorce didn't just hurt Bowen emotionally but also financially. In addition to being one of the most expensive states to live in, California is also largely considered to be the most expensive state to get divorced in. In fact, when "Modern Family" concluded its run in 2020, Bowen joked that she wasn't ready for the show to end, hinting that she was still paying off her divorce. 

As she wondered aloud, "Do you know what divorce in the state of California is?" (via Us Weekly). And though the actor was being tongue-in-cheek, the fact is her wallet definitely took a hit. According to court documents, the terms of Bowen and Phillips' divorce involved the two splitting their not-insignificant $25.3 million in shared assets right down the middle. Additionally, the Emmy winner kept the house that she purchased after their separation, while Phillips was granted ownership of the home that they had previously lived in together, alongside their children. The real estate investor also requested spousal support, though that part of the settlement hasn't been made public at the time of writing.