Julie Bowen says she was ‘pit against’ Sofia Vergara during ‘Modern Family’: ‘Really disappointing’

Julie Bowen is opening up about her bond with Sofia Vergara.

The “Horrible Bosses” star shared she felt pressured to be in conflict with her “Modern Family” co-star, who played her stepmother on the hit sitcom.

“They were just determined to pit us against each other, like we hated each other,” Bowen shared on Wednesday’s episode of Jennie Garth’s “I Choose Me” podcast. “It’s this scarcity mindset that there’s only one woman who can be happy at a time.”

She added, “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.’”

Bowen also related the tabloid narratives to the dynamic between Garth and the late Shannen Doherty during “Beverly Hills, 90210.”

“I felt it on Modern Family,” the 54-year-old recalled. “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.”

Meanwhile, Bowen couldn’t comprehend why two women in a television series or film weren’t able to share the spotlight.

“I don’t understand why society doesn’t have room,” the “Totally Killer” actress reflected to Garth. “It goes back to the witches like we’re too scary if we’re all together.”

And rewind to the long-running series in its eighth season, the “feud” rumors between Bowen and Vergara had been at an ultimate high. 

So, Bowen decided to take matters into her own hands and appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” by wearing Vergara’s clothes to put the speculation to rest.

“Every night I get a call or email that says, ‘So-and-so trash mag will be running a story that you are icy to Sofía Vergara because you are jealous of her fame,’” she explained. “So I email her last night and then we talk and I’m like, ‘What should I say?’ Because we’re friends.” 

Bowen said the “Griselda” star responded, “Please, just borrow my blouse,” so that’s exactly what she did.

She explained to Garth the impact that those false claims had on her.

“I found that to be really disappointing on the part of the press, but I just never fed into that,” she admitted. “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.”

In fact, the “Hubie Halloween” actress and the “America’s Got Talent” judge had a tight bond.

“I learned so much from being around her about what it is to be a really powerful, completely in herself woman,” Bowen continued. “No one would mistake her for like a fourteen-year-old boy from behind like they do me all the time.”

The ladies remain close, with the Emmy winner publicly celebrating Vergara on her 52nd birthday in July.

Bowen shared a sweet throwback photo of the pair hugging at Vergara’s 2015 Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SOFIA!!!” she captioned her Instagram. “I’m sending you a hug with my giant man-arms. I love you!!

When Vergara split from her ex-husband, Joe Manganiello, after seven years of marriage last summer, Bowen had nothing but kind words for her former on-screen stepmom.

“Everything she does, she does with grace,” Julie gushed to E! News at the time. “And she rises above and she just goes forward. She’s warm and generous and giving to everybody around her. I have no doubt that if she wishes to be in a relationship she will be but she sure don’t need one.”