Julie Bowen said this week that although she identifies as “straight,” she was once in love with a woman.
“I am hetero. I’ve always been straight,” the Modern Family actress said on her Quitters podcast Monday. “I was in love with a woman for a while, but she didn’t love me back.”
She said while the woman in question also liked women, “she didn’t like me that way. It never really worked, so I never really had to question my concept of my sexuality.”
Bowen discussed sexual preference labels with Bachelor’s degree Becca Tilley, who is in a relationship with singer Hayley Kiyoko.
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Julie Bowen attends the 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 20, 2015 in Los Angeles. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Tilley said it was a lot of “stress” to come out and she hoped one day it wouldn’t be necessary because “life is already very tough. Falling in love should just be a natural and beautiful thing that people don’t have to explain to everyone.” The couple have been together for four years.
Bowen said she finds it strange that people often start by asking others about their preferences. She agreed with the hope that people don’t always have to come out, adding: “I hope people don’t have to take the lead with what you do with your body shouldn’t be the first thing we think about.” people know or care about. That’s your business.”
The cast of “Modern Family”
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Tilley added that she gets questions from people on social media who say they don’t understand how she ended up with a woman after going on to ‘bachelor’ twice to possibly get engaged to a man.
Becca Tilley, left, and Hayley Kiyoko attend ‘Elle Hollywood Rising’ presented by Polo Ralph Lauren and Hulu on May 18, 2022 in Los Angeles. (Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Elle)
“I don’t think you can really explain how to fall in love with someone. … Sometimes I think people try to put love, emotions and feelings in a box, and that’s not something you should put in a box.”
Bowen divorced real estate investor Scott Phillips, to whom she was married for 13 years, in 2018. The former couple have three children together: Oliver, 15, and John and Gustav, both 13.
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Bowen has been private about dating after her divorce and joked about coming out of “retirement” for her crush Harry Styles.