'I finally got it fixed.' Julie Bowen got plastic surgery 3 days after wrapping Modern Family.

Julie Bowen, or as we more commonly know her, Claire Dunphy, graced our screens for 11 years on the US sitcom Modern Family. 

We laughed with her on-screen family, we even cried.

But what if we told you that Bowen was so convinced she wasn’t going to get the part of Claire that she went home after her audition and bawled her eyes out?

Speaking to PEOPLE, the actor, now 52, recalled the time she was pregnant with her two boys whilst auditioning for the show. 

"I was pregnant with twins, and I kept thinking they weren’t going to hire me," she said. "They kept bringing me in over and over and sort of staring at my humongous belly, and I thought, 'I’m never getting this job'."

She remembered being heartbroken as she'd had her hands on "the best script I’d read in pilot season in years".

"[I] went home and cried and cried and cried," she added.

Getting nostalgic? Revisit the Modern Family season one trailer. Post continues after video.

But all for naught because they cast her, belly and all.

The pilot episode saw incredible success, and thus Modern Family was born in 2009. But keen fans noticed Bowen looked different in the pilot when compared to the show.

Some online 'investigators' naturally thought plastic surgery, however, the truth was Bowen was eight months pregnant, and they'd managed to hide it.

If you go back and watch the episode, you can see the movie magic at play, where they use camera angles and framing to hide Bowen’s belly, as well as an elevated kitchen counter, thoughtfully placed pillows and cereal boxes. 

Image: ABC.

Image: ABC.

In a recent interview on The View, Bowen talks about that time in her life when real fame crept in, and how she handled it. 

"I’m glad I had done a bunch of other stuff," she said, referring her past projects including Boston Legal and Happy Gilmore.

"I had kind of got accustomed to that. So when [fame] came in a big fat wave, like a tidal wave, I knew how to swim."

Bowen said that raising twins was such a distraction she barely noticed what was happening outside her family bubble.

"All I cared about was these little kids, I didn’t notice anything else," she said. "I had a life and boobs I could tuck into my shoes."

This week, Bowen made headlines after appearing on The View, where she opened up about a cosmetic procedure she'd had done.

The Modern Family star shared how she planned on "fixing" her stomach after her twin pregnancy, however, needed to wait until the show finished. She didn't expect it to go for as long as it did.

"I finally got the stomach fixed… Finally, after all these years," she announced. 

"Cause they ripped it open, the twins just ripped it open. And I said, 'As soon as Modern Family's done...' - I mean, I was pregnant on the pilot - so when this show is done, I'll get it fixed." 

"It ran for 11 years!" she added.

She scheduled the procedure for the next available weekday.

"We wrapped on Friday and [by] Monday, they went in and they do you like a sneaker," she joked. 

Bowen has not shared what procedure she had done.

At the time of her twin pregnancy, Bowen was married to real estate developer Scott Phillips. The couple also share a teenage son.

In 2018, after 14 years of marriage, the pair called it quits. 

Fans noticed cracks appearing in their relationship when Bowen’s husband, despite always being supportive of her career until that point, didn’t appear on her arm at the 2016 Emmys - which also happened to be their wedding anniversary.

A week later, Bowen did a red carpet interview with US Weekly, and went to great lengths to combat the rumours.

"We watch all these people get married and split up and go, 'Wait, did they get married after us or before us?' We outlast all these people… The answer: 'We’re too tired to do anything else!"

Image: Getty

In another interview with the publication a year later, Bowen opened up further about her marriage, sharing how it is natural to butt heads in a healthy relationship.

"Butting heads is part of life. I mean… I’ve spent a lot of time in excellent therapy and butting heads is part of life," she said.

"Being perfect is not a good model for your children. They need to see that there’s tension or arguments, they need to see those get resolved, they need to see real life."

Their separation was announced soon after in February 2017.

Five years on from her divorce and Bowen appears to be single.

Speaking on her Quitters podcast, the actor shared how although identifying as straight, she once fell for a woman.

"I’m straight. I’ve always been straight. I was in love with a woman for a while but she didn’t love me back… She liked women but she didn’t like me in that way," she said.

"It never really took off so I never really had to challenge my concept of my sexuality."

Feature Image: ABC.