Adam Devine is finally explaining why fans never saw Andy Bailey again on Modern Family after Season 9. The Pitch Perfect actor portrayed Jay and Gloria’s “manny,” Phil’s assistant, and Haley’s boyfriend throughout Seasons 5-7, making a brief appearance in Season 9. Many fans have been vocal about how Haley should have ended up with Andy rather than Dylan, but Devine has a good excuse for not returning to the ABC sitcom.
After a fan on X wrote that Devine leaving Modern Family and ruining the arc for Andy and Haley “should be considered a crime” and people “need to hate him more for leaving” as they deserved better and Haley “deserved better,” Devine had to step in and save his reputation. “Offense TAKEN,” Devine replied. “Hehe. They wanted to bring me back towards the end of the show but I was already shooting another project. Hollywood baby!!! Sarah rules. The show ruled and I loved being a part of it.”
While all should be said and done knowing that Devine had scheduling conflicts, it does contradict something else that another fan found. User theshipdiaries3 on X shared an excerpt from Modern Family: The Untold Oral History of One of Television’s Groundbreaking Sitcoms by Marc Freeman where Sarah Hyland admitted that Devine told her that he kept contacting producers for months “to see if they were bringing me back. They said that they couldn’t find the funny between Andy and Haley anymore.”
It should be pointed out that what Devine told the fan seems to be for more towards the end of the series, while the quote in the oral history is likely for around the time Devine had initially left Modern Family. Either way, there was plenty of potential for Andy and Haley, whether as friends or as romantic partners. At least Devine and Hyland were able to work together again in the Pitch Perfect spinoff series Bumper in Berlin, even if it did only last a season on Peacock.
If Modern Family were to return for a reboot or revival of some sort, perhaps Andy and Haley can find their way back together, if things don’t work out with Dylan, that is. Fans can always go back and rewatch their fand moments with the couple on Hulu, because it’s definitely better than nothing.