The Tragic Reason Rico Rodriguez Almost Left Modern Family After Season 8

"Modern Family" star Rico Rodriguez suffered a heartbreaking loss after wrapping up filming for the eighth season of the hit sitcom. In March 2017, the then-18-year-old actor took to Instagram to sadly announce that he had endured "the toughest week of [his] life" because Rico's father, Roy Rodriguez, had passed away at the age of just 52. In the heartfelt tribute, the TV star recalled all the things he would always love about his father and all the ways in which he would miss him. 

During a June 2025 appearance on his "Modern Family" co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson's "Dinner's On Me" podcast, Rico admitted that he was struggling behind the scenes and even seriously considered quitting the beloved sitcom as a result. After explaining that Roy supported him through his contract negotiations, the actor shared a big reason for his hesitation to return, saying, "I mean, the patriarch of our family is gone, and he was the biggest motivator. He was all of our ideas." 

Moreover, Rico was unsure if he could handle the strains of filming while he was grieving. However, the youngster eventually decided to return for a touching reason, disclosing, "There was a point where I was like, I would be doing him a disservice of everything we worked for at that point to just stop." Although it was, understandably, still incredibly difficult for Rico to get back to work, he found some solace in "knowing that [he] was coming back to [his] other family." And the teenage performer's onscreen family supported him through his grief in several notable ways too. 

After Rico Rodriguez took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share the news of his father Roy Rodriguez's passing, the actor's "Modern Family" co-stars swiftly offered their condolences. Julie Bowen, who played Claire Dunphy on the hit show, supported Rico and his sister, Raini Rodriguez, with a sweet message: "We are a cheap substitute, but we will always do our best to be your other family." His onscreen mother, Sofía Vergara, left an equally simple but heartfelt message, writing, "I love you." Even Eric Stonestreet's sister, Mauria Stonestreet, extended her support to Rico during the tough time. 

Of course, the young performer's TV family only showered him with even more love once he returned to work. During Rico's appearance on the "Dinner's On Me" podcast, he revealed that he teared up during a table read because his castmates had a little celebration for his first birthday following Roy's passing. The sweet and heartfelt gesture led the up-and-coming actor to realize that he had made the right call by returning.

The "Modern Family" star, who once starred in an "NCIS" episode that most people forgot about, shared how the Emmy-winning sitcom helped him cope with the loss of his father, noting, "It's helping me just because I know how much love you guys have given me over the years." Rico continued, "Knowing that I had you guys to be there with, to uplift and just have a good time, it really made the decision a lot easier, to come back." Although the true story of the "Modern Family" cast was tragic, at least they could always lean on each other.