Modern Family actor Julie Bowen has revealed that she is dating someone new, though she is choosing to keep his identity private for now. Speaking to PEOPLE at Step Up’s 2026 Annual Inspiration Awards in Los Angeles on September 25, the 56-year-old actor described her new partner as a “lovely friend.”
Bowen said intelligence and humour are the qualities she values most in a relationship. “I need smart and funny. Those are the two [characteristics I look for in a partner],” she said, adding, “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 investor Scott Phillips. The couple tied the knot in 2004, separated after 13 years and finalised their divorce in 2018. They share three sons — Oliver, 19, and 17-year-old twins Gustave and John.
At the same event, Bowen spoke about how her home has become “30% more quiet” since Oliver left for college. She has previously opened up about the emotional experience of seeing her eldest son begin that new chapter, calling it one of the hardest parts of parenting.
Bowen has also said that raising her three sons has taught her to trust them more. “Believe in them,” she previously told PEOPLE, while acknowledging that learning not to micromanage her children has been an important part of motherhood.