Being the patriarch of the Pritchetts on Modern Family was no easy task. There were kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids to deal with. And that doesn't even take into a step-son who acts like he's 40 years older than he actually is. In Jay's case, he, fortunately, built up a lot of patience raising Claire and Mitchell. They seem like they would have been a handful.
Jay Pritchett has been a parent and businessman for several decades, giving him a wide range of life experiences. Even so, there are still more than a few things about him that don't add up.
Loved His Family, Hid His Feelings From Them
Jay was a loving and caring man as a general rule, though he wasn't equipped to show it very well. His father was a man's man, rarely expressing his emotions. Long after his father died, Jay wondered if he ever knew his son loved him.
Despite the pain of those lessons, Jay still struggled to be open emotionally with his family. That started to change with the birth of Joe, his son with his second wife Gloria. He worked hard to not repeat the same mistakes with Joe he had made with Claire and Mitchell.
Every One Of His Sisters-In-Law Were Into Him
The most surprising thing about Jay was that he was quite the ladies' man. That did not change as he got older, either, as Gloria was significantly younger than him and fell in love at first sight with the guy.
In particular, Jay was like catnip to his sisters-in-law, which goes for both of his marriages. His first wife DeDe had sisters named BeBe and CeCe, both of whom were into Jay. Then, Gloria's little sister Sonia was also revealed to be attracted to him. Some of this may have been in Jay's head.
May Have Loved Stella More Than Gloria
Again, Jay was not one to wear his heart on his sleeve. Even though he was head over heels in love with Gloria, he still had to push himself to be open with those feelings. Doing so in public was even more difficult.
But that rarely seemed to be an issue with Stella, Jay's French Bulldog. He was not afraid of PDA with the dog who was quite disliked by Gloria. This was mainly because Gloria suspected Jay loved the dog more than her. That's probably why Stella kept destroying Gloria's stuff.
How He And DeDe Stayed Married For 35 Years
Jay was married to DeDe, his first wife and the mother of Claire and Mitchell, for 35 years. Ultimately it was DeDe who left Jay but he had considered ending the marriage years earlier but a trip to Disneyland convinced him otherwise.
Realistically, Jay probably should have followed his instincts and ended the relationship sooner. It was obviously quite unhealthy for both of them, and also had a negative impact on their kids. How they kept it together for almost four decades was an absolute mystery.
Rarely Talked About His Brother And Sister
Keeping with the theme of Jay not talking about his life at all, he actually has a brother and sister. They each show up in the series and are mentioned a couple of times, but it's sporadic at best. They aren't huge factors in Modern Family.
While Jay works throughout the series to build, and in some cases re-build, relationships with his family, his own siblings are largely left out of the equation. Perhaps those connections are too far gone in his mind, but they might still be worth the effort.
Incredibly Into Closets
Jay's wealth was a key factor in the series, though it did not play a part in Gloria falling in love with him. While his exact level of affluence was never disclosed, Jay was implied to be quite well off. And he made his money the old fashioned way, in closets.
He was the former co-owner of Closet Fornia until his old business partner screwed him over. Then, he started Pritchett's Closets and Blinds. Its success eclipsed Fornia's, setting him up for life. Still, his ion for the business was surprising at best and damaged his personal relationships.
He's In The Closet Hall Of Fame
Taking Jay's love of closets a step further, he actually ended up in the Closet Hall of Fame. The fact that there was a Closet Hall of Fame in the first place was confusing, to say the least. But there's excellence to be applauded in any field, in theory.
His success with closets is integral to the show, but the industry in the series remains a mystery. Working in this specific area of home building might have brought Jay a level of control that he didn't have in other areas of this life. Regardless, the Closet Hall of Fame was odd.
Kept His Model Airplanes Locked Up
Everyone needs a hobby to take the edge off after a long day of building closets. In Jay's case, his key hobby was building model airplanes. That, in and of itself, was not odd. In fact, it's quite a common hobby.
What was less common was what he did with them. Jay kept his planes locked in a safe place, presumably to protect them from damage. But the lengths he went to keep them safe were a bit too much.
Tried To Make Claire Into Mitchell
Years before Mitchel came out of the closet and opened up about his sexuality, Jay realized that he was never going to be the son he wanted. That sounds cruel, and it was, but Mitchell just wasn't the jock-type Jay was hoping for.
Over time, Jay realized his own mistakes as a parent and worked to fix his relationship with Mitchell. But in the meantime, he unconsciously tried to turn his daughter, Claire, into the son he always wanted.
After All Those Years, He Still Tormented Phil
Jay had a grudge against Phil for a long time. The crux of the problem was the typical father/daughter story, that Phil had taken Claire away from Jay and Phil wasn't good enough for her in his eyes. It plagued their relationship for years.
But as time ed, Jay got over those feelings, growing to see what a devoted father and husband Phil was. On some level, he was even a little jealous of Phil's time with his kids. Despite his changing feelings, he couldn't stop making fun of Phil at every opportunity.