Modern Family’s Gloria - A New Second Wife Playbook

On the surface, Modern Family’s Gloria Delgado-Pritchett checks off many of the boxes of the “second wife trope” – like being a stunning, suspected gold digger. But as the show progresses, we realize that Jay and Gloria are incredibly compatible and in love.

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[Blex]

I loved that Gloria, Phil and Cam had a secret society since they all married Pritchetts haha

[trinaq]

I love how Gloria is a refreshing aversion of the "Wicked Stepmother" trope. Rather than being characterised as cartoonly evil and hating her stepchildren, Gloria is nothing but benevolent to Jay's family, plus Claire and Mitchell are roughly around her age.

[tyriaxepheles]

This made me think of how second husbands are portrayed. Usually the main character is the first husband but the woman takes the kids and gets with a man who is more financially stable and acts very mature and fatherly. But this is often portrayed as the second husband emasculating the first husband who is the main character and the man the audience is rooting for. Then the first husband engages in schemes to win the wife or kids back. It's like promoting toxic loser fathers.

[mirithilrose]

Also... Gloria was such a wonderful mother to Manny. She always supported him so he could express himself the way he wanted. And when Jay sometimes critzises Manny's behaviour for not being "masculine enough", Gloria immediately puts him straight.

[abbymaddox]

I love Gloria so much. What I love about her is that she doesn't hid the fact that she married Jay for his money but it doesn't take away the fact that she truly love Jay.

[trinidadmcgraw]

Gloria was also a great insight on Latinas in a predominately white space/family. My mom is Latina (Spanish is her second language), everyone, including my siblings and I, see how alike she is to Gloria.
Gloria's line "you don't even know how smart I am in Spanish" made me understand and see my mother in a new light

[flymilo]

I think more than the second wife, the trope of the boring old and bitter first wife needs a rewriting.

[mbanerjee]

Yes, more Modern Family analysis! People seem to have forgotten how good the show was.

[magma]

No shade to any second wife, but I kind of understand why adult kids can't stomach seeing their father being in a relationship with someone their age.

[lukedodson]

I like that Gloria's emotional openess is presented as a positive contribution to the family dynamic, she's not treated as the typical "fiery latina that needs to be tamed."

[Angi_]

I love how Gloria never shamed her son for his non traditionally masculine or weird interests. We need more of that in our cultures (American and Latin/Hispanic).

As an introvert, I don’t seem to have a lot of common with her at first, but I still relate to her so much! ❤️

[bruja_cat]

19:10 As a Latina woman who married a white guy from the Midwest, I can’t express how important it was to have him actively learn Spanish. It gave me a sense that I was at home. That I didn’t have to translate what came to me naturally. It’s seriously so important. My mother had experiences of being judged as less intelligent due to her accent too.

[kirstenirwin]

I absolutely love Gloria's character! She is so dynamic and vibrant. One of my favorite moments is when Jay is talking to Joe while he's still in the womb and he says "By God, I hope you gain your mother's confidence". Their love for each other is genuine and so amazing to see. I also love the moment when Gloria confronts a snooty hostess and after they get kicked out of the restaurant, they find a taco truck and sing Jay's favorite song together with the adult kids. It is so sweet.

[inescastellano]

Every character in Modern Family is perfectly written. They’re multidimensional and complex.

[ryanappleton]

Gloria Pritchett is the stepmother I wished I had! She's very sharp, very smart and has a carefree attitude to life whilst being a proud, fierce, loving, brave mother to both Manny and Joe.

[AllySheehan]

Another great thing about Gloria (or their depiction of her) is that she's unashamedly who she is, she's allowed to be sexy and confident, whilst also being a great mum, whilst also appreciating money or looking good. None of these things are used to vilify her, in the way they coincide with manipulation in Meredith Blake or Fiona from A Cinderella Story.

[CrickeyMushu]

i just love when gloria describes helicopters using the sound "takatakataka" and when she says "please come back" after sending claire a rude email lol. shes so funny yet an icon

[jessicavictoriacarrillo]

Another thing I want to point out given how Gloria is regarded as a threat: there is thing and it can appear as pearl clutching, in real life where often white Anglo women react negatively to non Anglo and poc women expressing their sexuality (Mary J Blige, J. Lo, Shakira at the Super Bowl, the Hot Girl Summer backlash) often as threatening to children, causing low self esteem in women their age, like Jennifer Weiner's essay about being a Dorothy in a world where Blanche isn't hot anymore. A commenter on Jezebel said this in regards to the article:
"Black and Brown women don’t necessarily buy into the 'I am invisible post 40 years old, woah is me' thing. Go to any backyard BBQ in the ‘hood in the summer time and you’ll see Black and Brown moms and even grandmas in short shorts and tank tops looking cute as hell. They may not look like JLo, of course, but they do have no issues with feeling sexy and sharing that with the world."
That's food for thought.

[Grantonioful]

"Jay, kiss your son, he is a mess." Great line.

[gabrielleduplessis]

You know I am glad that stepmoms are not the villain as much as they used to.

There are many blended family stories where the second wife is not the automatic villain but an integral part of the family.

I cannot think of a lot of examples right now, but a recent one is “over the moon”. The father’s new fiancé was not an antagonist or a villain. She tried making sure she get along with his daughter and show her newfound love for her. I like how it was just the daughter adjusting because she was not ready to let go of her mom and her traditions, but she warmed up to her new family members while keeping her mom in her heart.

I know there are more examples of this, but they are not coming to mind right now.