What happened to Phil from ‘Modern Family,’ and why are people asking if he passed away?

Whenever a cast reunites to reminisce, fans can’t help but experience a bout of nostalgia alongside them. Recently, the cast of Modern Family got together, but there was an obvious face missing.

Modern Family isn’t truly Modern Family without Phil and Claire. While they may not be the official patriarchs of the family, let’s be real here: they raised an entire generation of fans, myself included. So much so that we might as well call them mom and dad.

Nostalgia aside, when the cast gathered and Ty Burrell was conspicuously absent from the pictures, everyone naturally grew concerned. Is Burrell okay, or has something happened to him? Let’s break it down.

Did Ty Burrell pass away?

No, Ty Burrell did not pass away, but we understand your confusion. During the heartwarming Modern Family reunion, the cast shared a touching moment by holding up a framed picture of Ty Burrell, who unfortunately couldn’t join them for whatever reason. It almost felt like an homage to Burrell, as they all wore black and had flowers in the frame, but the cast was simply filling the spot in his absence ⏤ likely due to scheduling conflicts.

It turned out to be a rather misleading photo with no ill intent behind it, but the internet immediately began to panic anyway, with more and more fans expressing concern for Burrell’s health and speculating whether he had passed away before the cast took the picture. Just to reiterate: no, he has not.

The elements including the framed picture, the flowers, and the outfits truly are incredibly misleading. But please, let’s not manifest anything like this; we can only handle so much sitcom mourning in one year.