Jay Pritchett is the patriarch of ABC’s Modern Family. As a man in his 70s, he’s old school and has a macho-man approach to most things in life. He’s been married twice and has three biological kids of his own and a stepson (Manny) from his marriage to his second wife, Gloria. While he may have a short temper and finds a problem with just about everything, he’s a good family man through and through.
With a big family like Jay’s, they’re always in each other’s business and see each other weekly (if not daily). This can leave little time for Jay to be alone with his thoughts, which can drive him into an aggressive rage. Although Jay adores his family, he’s done a few crummy things to them over the course of 11 seasons.
HE TOLD THE FAMILY HE WAS IN COLUMBIA FOR THANKSGIVING
In “Three Turkeys,” Jay and Gloria are attempting to ditch the family to have their own quiet Thanksgiving. The couple told everyone they were going to be in Columbia but in actuality, they were having a smaller dinner at their own home.
But when the power goes out at Phil and Claire’s house, they have to move the cooking over to Jay and Gloria’s to use their kitchen. This throws Jay and Gloria’s plans in the gutter and it left them in a puddle of lies before coming clean about where they really were.
THE REAL REASON HE WANTED GLORIA TO BECOME A CITIZEN
“Patriot Games” showed Gloria gearing up to take her citizenship exam. She moved to America years ago with her son and is the epitome of the American dream. She found love, created a business, and built a safe home.
Jay was Gloria’s biggest cheerleader when it came time for her to become an American citizen. However, it came out that the only reason he wanted her to become an official American was that he was tired of waiting in those long lines at the airport…
NOT BEING AN AFFECTIONATE FATHER TO MITCH & CLAIRE
Throughout Modern Family’s 11 seasons, we’ve learned more about the Pritchett dynamic. With a short-tempered father and a mother (Dede) who never seemed to be present, Claire and Mitchell have some issues when it comes to being sentimental and sensitive.
As a macho-man and a war veteran, Jay always treated Claire like a son (which turned her into a super competitive, aggressive person) and didn’t appreciate how sensitive–and non-athletic—Mitchell was. This notion is brought up multiple times, especially when Cameron accuses Mitchell of not being comfortable with PDA.
HE TOLD HIS FRIENDS CAMERON WAS JUST HIS SON’S FRIEND
In “Fifteen Percent,” Jay is with his buddies when he runs into Cam. Instead of introducing Cam as his son’s partner (the two weren’t married at this time), he says Cameron is Mitchell’s friend.
This deeply upsets both Cam and Mitchell. It proves that Jay isn’t open to the fact that his son is gay and that he may have issues with his son’s dedicated partner. Considering the couple was so serious with one another that they shared a daughter, this was gutting.
HIS CONSTANT MISTREATMENT OF PHIL
Similar to how Claire treats all of her kids’ lovers and partners, Jay never gives Phil the time of day. Sure, he lets up as seasons go on but in the earlier seasons, Jay was harsh to lovable Phil.
All Phil wanted was acceptance from his father-in-law. He was a doting husband, caring father, and worked hard for his family, so why didn’t Jay approve? After a while, everything Jay did was a dig at Phil. Like how he said “Phyllis, my son-in-law” instead of “Phil is my son-in-law.”
LIED TO GLORIA ABOUT HER SNORING
It was shocking to the families on Modern Family and to viewers that Gloria was pregnant with Jay’s baby. Gloria was nervous about how Jay was going to take it but luckily, he was thrilled at another shot at parenting. However, the bigger Gloria got, the more uncomfortable Jay’s sleeping routine became.
To hide from Gloria’s growing bump and snoring, Jay booked a hotel for the night as an escape. Thanks to Manny, Gloria found out and showed up at Jay’s hotel to give him a slap in the face. Jay properly explained himself and apologized but it was pretty low of him to do that during such a sensitive time in his wife’s life.
HE KICKED GLORIA OFF THE SOCCER FIELD
In “Did The Chicken Cross The Road,” Gloria is coaching Joe’s soccer team and volunteered Jay to referee the league. As it turns out, Jay happened to officiate Joe’s game, which means things between the married couple got heated.
Things continued to get worse when Jay forgot his whistle and didn’t really understand the rules of soccer, which made Gloria (as the coach) even more furious. He loved having the upper hand on Gloria and took advantage of his power and threw Gloria out of the game for talking back to the official. Sure, he apologized but it was after he threw her out.
HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH VINCENT
Vincent is Jay’s best friend. His nickname is “Shorty” and he is introduced in season one. Audiences see the pair golfing and enjoying dinner together frequently. But when Shorty decides to move to Costa Rica with his wife, Jay lets his emotions do the talking and becomes very angry with Shorty.
Jay basically kicked him out of his life for leaving their friendship for another country. Shorty is seen again after he moves back to America but their friendship is never the same again thanks to Jay’s blowup.
FORGETTING ABOUT HALEY’S BABY SHOWER
All Modern Family fans know how seriously Jay and Cam take their football. Jay watches it weekly and pushed Manny to play football (even though it wasn’t for him). In “SuperShowerBabyBowl,” Jay’s love of football outshined his own granddaughter’s baby shower.
Granted, Claire planned Haley’s baby shower on Super Bowl Sunday but it was pretty lousy of Jay to not only forget but not care about it at all. All he cared about was the game and his chili recipe.
TRYING TO GET PHIL UNINVITED TO HIS COUNTRY CLUB
Jay’s always been a country club kind of guy. It’s the one place where he can be alone without his family. He can be with the guys, drink too much, play some golf, and reminisce about old times. But when his grandson Luke begins working at the country club, Phil felt compelled to become more involved. He tried his best to become a new member at the club but Jay was totally against it from the start. He lied to Phil about the initiation and wasn’t all that welcoming during the dinner party.
As per usual, Jay and Phil had to have a heart-to-heart about the real issue but it’s a shame Jay lets things get so far before explaining himself.
