DeDe and Jay Prichett were married for over 30 years and had two children from their union. But eventually, these two Modern Family characters grew apart. DeDe left town to find herself while Jay stayed back to be around family and support his closet empire. After Jay remarried down the road, it became clear that Claire was never fond of her mother.
By the way that Claire spoke of DeDe, she came off as controlling, judgmental, and manipulative. Jay and Gloria don't have many nice things to say about her, either, but how bad could she be, right? Alas, every time DeDe popped up on the screen, trouble followed.
Family Was Too Harsh: She Made Amends With Jay
There came a time in DeDe and Jay's life where they were tired of being hostile to one another. Now that they were no longer married, they could work on their friendship. It took some time, of course, because DeDe was still upset over Jay moving on with someone as stunning as Gloria, but it did happen. This proves that DeDe did change for the better in her own way. It just took time.
She Was The Worst: She Hooked Up With Claire's Ex-Boyfriend
In one of DeDe's first episodes, she invited an uninvited guest to the Dunphy household for dinner: Claire's ex-boyfriend, Robbie. She told Robbie that Claire was still figuring her life out; she never mentioned that she was married with three kids.
Robbie was let down after finding out that Claire was a taken woman but his night turned around when DeDe made a move on him. DeDe soon began dating Robbie and invited him to Lily's birthday party. The entire situation was a fiasco.
Family Was Too Harsh: Her Final Voicemail To Claire
In season 10, Claire and Mitchell got a frantic phone call from DeDe's husband: their mother had passed away. Claire and Mitchell spent the evening sharing memories about their mother when they realized they weren't being truthful. DeDe may be dead but she wasn't the best mom or warmest person.
Claire realized later on that she had one remaining voicemail from her mother. DeDe said she loved her and that she was sorry for their last argument. It was big of DeDe to apologize.
She Was The Worst: She Physically Attacked Gloria
Although DeDe and Jay divorced happily and willingly, there was still a sense of resentment on DeDe's end. She hated the fact that Jay moved on so quickly, especially with a woman like Gloria. The couple invited DeDe to their wedding but it was too much for her.
She lashed out and embarrassed them on their wedding day. And later on, she couldn't be in the same room as Gloria without trying to strangle her.
Family Was Too Harsh: She Was Great With Her Grandkids
As hurtful as DeDe was to Mitchell and Claire, she was incredibly sweet to her grandkids. She wasn't there for all the events in their lives but she was adoring when she was present. She went to Lily's birthday party and she really connected with Haley. Her connection with Haley is unique because, in many ways, Haley is a version of Claire, so one would suspect DeDe to judge Haley. But instead, she was comforting to her eldest grandchild.
She Was The Worst: She Judged Claire's Parenting Style
It's fascinating that DeDe had the audacity to judge Claire's parenting style when she wasn't that loving of a mother nor around her grandkids enough to know how they're raised. And yet, she judged Claire on how she was raising her kids. Mitchell has always been her favorite child, so she was bound to be harder on Claire's parenting skills than Mitchell's.
Family Was Too Harsh: She Created A Sweet Bond With Manny
The relationship between Manny and DeDe was actually touching and not spoken about enough. Manny is an old soul who respects everyone, including his step-dad's ex-wife. Considering DeDe tried to kill Gloria whenever she saw her, it's surprising that Manny still respects DeDe. In one episode, the two spent the day together talking about poetry and connecting on a deep level. DeDe was shockingly able to see Manny as his own being, instead of her ex-husband's new son.
She Was The Worst: She Made Mitchell Do Her Dirty Work
It became known early on that DeDe uses her son to fight her battles. In one episode, DeDe showed up to at Mitchell's house and wanted to be invited to family dinner that night. The only problem is that Mitchell knew that DeDe's presence would ruffle feathers. Instead of DeDe apologizing to Gloria and Jay by herself, she used Mitchell to stir the pot while she sat back and watched.
Family Was Too Harsh: The Deeper Meaning Of Slippers
With Christmas around the corner, Gloria's mother came into town to help her prepare for the holidays. Claire was there to help Gloria's mom bake cookies where she vented about her mother. She said her mother always sent her slippers every single year, and it bothered her because it was generic. She never put any kind of effort into her gifts.
However, Gloria's mom told Claire that slippers could be a sentimental gift for her mother. Perhaps one of her favorite memories was seeing Claire in slippers around the house as a kid? It changed Claire's entire perspective on the gift.
She Was The Worst: She Was Hard On Phil And Cam
DeDe may have been kind to her grandkids, but she was cruel to her own children and their partners. She proved that she had never been fond of Phil when she invited Claire's ex-boyfriend over to the house. And when it came to her relationship with Cam, she poked fun at his weight. She and Cam eventually became closer when they started emailing each other recipes but she still wasn't the nicest.