Julie Bowen On More Kids: ‘Oh God, No!’

Angela Weiss/Getty

It’s safe to say that Julie Bowen has her hands full.

With three sons — Oliver, 3½, as well as twins John and Gus, 18 months — and a television family that seems to keep her in a constant state of exasperation, it comes as no surprise that the Emmy-nominated actress was compelled to draw a line in the sand.

What is surprising is just how harsh that line is.

“Oh God, no! No more children,” Bowen, 41, deadpans to PEOPLE at the March of Dimes Fifth Annual Celebration of Babies.

“Seriously, I gave my husband [Scott Phillips] a vasectomy with a rusty fork — it’s done.”

Corroded utensils and veiled threats aside, Bowen has come to terms with her transformation into a full-fledged matriarch.

“I’m late to everything whereas I used to be on time to everything,” the Modern Family star says with a sigh. “But now I am late and unwashed. Thank God for perfume and hairspray.”

At the very least, the little ones at home play an integral role in the actress’ unflinchingly honest assessment of her fitness regimen.

“I lift children for the upper body,” Bowen explains. “I run for the lower body, and for the middle I wear Spanx. That’s it — that’s my three-part system.”

– Reagan Alexander

Comments

I love her. That is all.

- Kristin on November 17th, 2010

she’s hilarious.

- kmb on November 17th, 2010

Love her! So funny and so talented!

- Jacqui on November 17th, 2010

SO funny!

- Stella Bella on November 17th, 2010

She has to be one of the most entertaining actresses out there. I love reading or watching her interviews.

- alice jane on November 17th, 2010

I adore how genuinely unimpressed she is with herself! So refreshing and enjoyable! Love her!!!

- UggaMugga.com on November 17th, 2010

Too funny! I just love her!

- Meghan on November 17th, 2010

Good for her. Three kids is a lot. I bet her boys are adorable.

- SAR on November 17th, 2010

You know what they say…If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans. My mom’s best friend said she was waiting YEARS after she had her first baby in Feb ’09. She ended up delivering baby #2 in Feb ’10.

- Mallory on November 17th, 2010

I love her!

- Rosalie on November 18th, 2010

Mallory- Well, Julie said her husband’s had a vasectomy (obviously she was joking about the rusty fork bit, but I’m guessing she was serious about her husband having a vasectomy!), so she doesn’t have to worry too much about finding herself unexpectedly pregnant (vasectomies CAN fail….but that’s quite rare!).

- CelebBabyLover on November 18th, 2010

CBL – Ah, I thought she was kidding about all of it. But that makes way more sense. *slaps forehead in dumb moment*

- Mallory on November 18th, 2010

No more with only 3. I’ve got 5. It’s not that hard!

- D on November 18th, 2010

but D not everyone WANTS five. It’s great that it works for you and that you don’t find it hard but she is perfectly content with three.

I love her “three-part system” she is very funny and Modern Family is one of my favorite shows.

- erin on November 18th, 2010

3 boys under 3 would be enough for me to say “DONE!”

- JMO on November 18th, 2010

D, for some people 1 child is hard! For other people they can have ten and it’s easy. Just because 5 isn’t that hard for you doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be for Julie and her husband.

- gdfg on November 18th, 2010

WOW, can’t believe no one has said ‘Oh but she must want a girl’, very refreshing. She’s more than happy with the family she has.

- Sam on November 18th, 2010

Hey, this lady is funny!

- Susan Lewis on November 18th, 2010

JMO, ITA. Have only two & even then they’re the slightly bigger gap of 3 yrs 4mths apart, but it works for us. Don’t blame Julie, it would be full on! Knew our limits, what we could cope with, and shop closed! Both from 2 children families, both having a younger sis, which influenced us to have smaller family. Can’t imagine more than 3 myself, but to each their own, every’s diff and have a diff sized family in mind.

Julie’s hilarious; love her sense of humour!

- Sam & Freya's Mum on November 18th, 2010

She is funny on the show only. I am SICK of hearing her sound so negative about having 3 children – and having twins. Almost every interview I have seen of her on TV, and every interview I have read – she sounds really put out by having 3 children. It is getting old.

I cannot remember her ever saying how blessed she is, how lucky they feel, how much she enjoys it…none of that. Seems pretty clueless about how irritating/annoying that might get after a while. She is no spring chicken either – she should realize how lucky she is to have been able to have 3 children at her age – all healthy I imagine.

I am sure had she lost a child, or if her twins had been preemies, she would not be spouting off like that. Get over yourself already.

- em on November 18th, 2010

I remember something specifically now – Julie Bowen was on the Bonnie Hunt Show. Bonnie is amazing – so funny, talented, very caring and lovely. Bonnie was married for many years and did not have children. She has even said on her show that she was not able to have children. Then Julie Bowen comes on, complaining about having 3 children. I know Bonnie is a better person than most – but you could see it on her face that it bothered her.

- em on November 18th, 2010

I love her and I’ve said the same things.

Em- it doesn’t mean you love your kids less or don’t feel blessed if you make funny comments. Some people are sarcastic. I joke about needing vodka to be a parent. I’m just kidding and people who know me “get me.” I stay away from overly sensitive people for a reason, they get offended by everything.

- Des on November 18th, 2010

Des – I hope you weren’t mixing breastfeeding and vodka…only kidding
; )

- em on November 18th, 2010

lol love her last comment !!! So true ;P

- Blanka on November 18th, 2010

A fabulous actor! It is amazing to me how much alike Julie Bowen and Julie Benz are! (Benz plays the mother in ‘Ordinary Family’) At first, I thought Julie Bowen was working two shows at once; they could be twins!

- FC Louis on November 18th, 2010

em, I honestly think she doesn’t talk about how “blessed” or lucky she feels because it goes without saying. How many interviews with celebrities do we read where they gush about how amazing and blissful parenthood is? It’s constant.

Julie is a breath of fresh air. Sure, she could go on and on about how much she loves her kids, but she’d rather make funny remarks about the challenges of parenthood. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t love them or isn’t thankful. She’s just got a sarcastic sense of humor.

- Shalay on November 18th, 2010

@CBL and Mallory – My dad’s friend had a vasectomy after his third child (all girls)…and ended up having twin girls because it reversed itself.

- S on November 18th, 2010

I like you. You sound very fun, sincere, and quite real. And I have FOUR boys… ; )

- Heather Adler on November 18th, 2010

Have adored her since “Ed” and am so glad she’s on “Modern Family.” She is so so funny! Love her “fitness” regimen. LOL!

- xKerri on November 18th, 2010

very real very funny very relatable very likable!!!!!!!

- blahblahblah on November 18th, 2010

I love her! She is such a normal woman. I loved her on Boston Legal and love her on Modern Family

- Sosie on November 18th, 2010

The last Julie Bowen post quoted her as saying that she was still amazed when she is referred to as Mom. That to me sounds like a woman who knows how lucky she is. But if Julie talked about how great her kids are and how blessed she was all the time, people would be shredding her for painting her life as picture perfect. She’s allowed to say or joke about whatever she wants. She (nor anyone else for that matter) should have to censor themselves so they won’t hurt some group or another. My mom always jokes that she should have been a nun.

- Meghan on November 18th, 2010

She has always been beautiful in every show she has ever done…. I love her in Modern Family…

- Debby on November 18th, 2010

LOVE her and have ever since her Carol Vessey days…

As for D, if it isn’t hard, perhaps you aren’t doing it right.

- boston on November 18th, 2010

she is so funny, i always watch her interviews like the latest one on Conan. i liked her since Ed, glad she was on Lost & got another great show Modern Family.

- le on November 18th, 2010

Wow, what a real and honest woman! It’s soo refreshing! I never comment, but on this, I just had to!

- Rachel on November 18th, 2010

Love…love love love Julie.

BUT….Cant stand people who insist we stand on the mountain top and scream that we are “blessed”. Parenthood IS hard, and I am grateful for people who realize when it’s time to stop having kids, instead of breeding over and over.

Em – If Bonnie wanted to be a parent she could have. She has the money and resources to take on adopted children. There are plenty of people out there who dont meet adoption criteria.

- Ellie on November 18th, 2010

My thoughts exactly! from a fellow mom of 3 boys (also under 4 years old)

- Francis on November 18th, 2010

Her into the camera, deadpan look when TV husband, Phil, is talking to the camera is PRICELESS.

- DeeMacD on November 18th, 2010

I love love love her. Modern Family is one of the only television shows not for children that i get to watch in a week and I love it. She’s right that after a while, the thought of more kids is not one you greet with a warm fuzzy feeling. After kids two and three (twins) I thought ‘maybe one more.’ I ended up with two more and that with it. Vasectomy time!

- Luna on November 18th, 2010

When I had my SECOND one, I told my husband that the baby factory was officially closed. And, our two boys are six years apart. So, I get it.

I get the question all of the time about do I want a girl. The answer is absolutely not! I enjoy being the only woman in the house. LOL!

- mochababe73 on November 18th, 2010

@CBL and Mallory – My dad’s friend had a vasectomy after his third child (all girls)…and ended up having twin girls because it reversed itself.

- S on November 18th, 2010

LOL! This is so funny!

- Shannon on November 18th, 2010

HILARIOUS..Love It!!!

- Kizz on November 18th, 2010

Julie Bowen NEVER ceases to crack me up. When she was pregnant with her first, I remember hearing her comments and wondering what her deal was… and then I started to catch on. She’s KIDDING about the whole business! She talks in public the way she’d talk to a good mom girlfriend. It’s so refreshing!

- Mrs. R. on November 18th, 2010

I agree, Meghan.

When celebrities comment about motherhood, they can never win. If they discuss how wonderful it is and how blessed they are, they’re criticized for not knowing what “real” motherhood is because they have help. Julie takes a sarcastic, witty stance and people bitch that she’s not grateful.

At the end of the day, they can make whatever comments they want. I doubt they concern themselves with what insignificant individuals think of the way they parent their child/children.

- Taylor on November 19th, 2010

S- I never said that vasectomies can’t fail….just that it’s extremely rare for them to fail!

Meghan- I couldn’t agree more!

gdfg- You hit the nail on the head, girl! I also want to point out that sometimes people choose to stop having kids for reasons that have absolutly nothing to do with how easy or hard they find a certain number of kids. For example, my mother is an only child, and that was because my grandparents decided not to have any more children after they had her.

But it wasn’t because they found her to be a handful (in fact, from what I’ve been told, she was the exact opposite!). It was because my grandmother’s pregnancy had been an extremely difficult one (culiminating in my mother being born a month early….and deciding to greet the world feet first!). Needless to say, she didn’t really want to go through that again! Point being, there are many reasons people decide to close up the baby factory when they do, and it’s not our place to judge, IMO.

- CelebBabyLover on November 19th, 2010

I just have to say…I come from a place of LOVING kids. LOVE LOVE LOVE kids. I have always wanted 5, I still want 5. But you know what…I have a 4 1/2 yr old and an 18 month-old (two girls) and I completely and totally get where she’s coming from in this interview. This age/phase for both my kids has left me thinking “OH NO! No more children!!” many times. Many times. It’s utter chaos having two (three!!) kids that age, and I stay home with mine – she’s juggling them plus all the other stuff she does.

I like her and as for that fitness regime – love it.

- sfmom on November 19th, 2010

I can totally symphathize with Julie! My first two were 23 months apart and when we found out we were pregnant when our second was an infant, it was quite a shock! Our youngest 2 are only 13 months apart and even though we “only” had 3 kids, it was a lot because we had 3 under 3. Now that they are 5, 3, and 2 it is a lot more manageable and we decided to go for a fourth which we are expecting in the spring!

- Allison on November 19th, 2010

CelebBabyLover, your story about your mother reminded me too that some people just don’t want to be PREGNANT again. They might love kids, but not everyone’s body is built to handle pregnancies very easily.

- gdfg on November 19th, 2010

You make complaint jokes enough and people will start to think they are real complaints.

Taylor, much like the way celebs could care less about your insignifant self and your defending them?

- J on November 22nd, 2010

Love her candor! She is so great and her show is fabulous!

- molly on November 22nd, 2010

I love her. She’s so funny!

- Anna on November 26th, 2010

I think she is a great part of the show I watch it every week with my mom and I think I can understand her decision of not wanting anymore kids. I think it might change as they get older but right now I bet its a handful! I wish her the best!

- Maddi on November 26th, 2010