In 2009, Eric Stonestreet's life changed forever in two major ways.
First, he landed his role in "Modern Family," a critically acclaimed ABC sitcom that went on for 11 seasons and catapulted him to fame as Cameron Tucker, the theatrical and tender-hearted husband to Jesse Tyler Ferguson's Mitchell Pritchett.
But it was also that same year that Stonestreet received some medical news: He had Type 2 diabetes, a diagnosis that made him feel a great deal of shame, just as his star was on the rise.
"I would dare say the only person probably in the cast that would even know I had Type 2 diabetes is Jesse. It's not anything I ever talked about," Stonestreet says. "I just kind of was ashamed and embarrassed, because, 'Of course, a guy that looks like me has Type 2 diabetes.' That's what everybody thinks. 'That's what you get for looking like you and eating like you,' or whatever."
What turned the actor's health around, he says, was Mounjaro, a medication he started in 2022 on his doctor's recommendation. Since then, Stonestreet says, his blood sugar is at a healthier, prediabetic level, and he's also lost some weight.
Stonestreet emphasizes he did not go on Mounjaro for appearances, though he acknowledges some "Modern Family" fans might notice he's thinner now than he was on the show. On a late April Zoom call, the actor doesn't share exactly how much weight he's lost but admits he's "down a couple shirt sizes, for sure."
Now, Stonestreet is doing a paid partnership with Eli Lilly and Company, the pharmaceutical brand behind Mounjaro, to share his experiences on the drug in hopes of destigmatizing it and similar medications, which have become hot-button cultural and political topics in recent years.
"I just never talked to anybody about it. I was embarrassed, so I just kind of kept it to myself," he says. "Now, I'm talking about it, and I hope other people will do the same thing."
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As an actor, Stonestreet says, he's never liked watching his own work. He finds watching his performances back can sometimes get in the way of being spontaneous and in the moment while he's acting.
During his run on "Modern Family," Stonestreet says he found it especially difficult to watch himself on TV. A lot of this, he says, had to do with feelings of shame that came with his Type 2 diabetes diagnosis.
"I know when I was doing great and when I wasn't and when I was like, 'I don't like looking at myself,' " he says of his time on the sitcom. "And I'm like, 'I don't like how I look out there.' Just like everyone else experiences. People are always like, 'You must love watching yourself on TV.' Actually, it's the opposite."
Stonestreet hasn't told his former "Modern Family" castmates that he started Mounjaro; however, he expects many will likely find out when the rest of the world does, with the announcement of his Eli Lilly partnership. He expects they'll be supportive when they do.
"I think most of them will be surprised, and I think they'll be happy for me. I mean, we all want the best for each other, and not anybody ever was like, 'Hey, you're really unhealthy looking,' " Stonestreet says. "But there's no doubt that people over time would probably think 'Eric should take better care of himself.' And I thought that (too)."
Stonestreet's not sure if or how his weight loss might affect his career. His main motivation for starting Mounjaro has always been his health and managing Type 2 diabetes. But he does think costumers on future projects may be less stunned when they take his measurements.
"Look, I'm not all of a sudden going to be Brad Pitt over here and chiseled at 175 pounds. Let's be real clear about that. I'm always going to be a big-boned, Kansas, corn-fed dude," he says. "But clothes fit better, which is exciting. I'm going down in size, which is exciting. Wardrobe people on shows won't be so shocked when they hear I'm a size 50 jacket. One thing that's funny in Hollywood is anything that's more than a 45 or 46, it's like, 'What size are you? How big?' It's funny. So that's exciting."
Medications that lead to weight loss have broken into the mainstream in recent years, in part thanks to Oprah Winfrey and other celebrities coming forward to share their experiences with them.
Still, these drugs often carry stigma, even though medical experts emphasized there's nothing wrong with taking them under proper medical guidance and supervision.
Stonestreet expects he'll receive some mean comments when the public learns he went on Mounjaro.
"People suck on social media, and people will say mean things inevitably, and that's fine. I get it. You have to wake up and be mean to somebody to make yourself feel better," he says. "But it's worked for me and I can't judge anyone else's reason for getting on any of these other drugs."
But Stonestreet also knows that his coming forward will likely mean a lot to people in similar situations. He hopes he can let these people know that they're not alone and there's no shame in taking these medications responsibly.
It's a lesson that he admits it took himself some time to learn.
"Hopefully what everyone takes away from it is find someone that you can talk to about it and sort of shine the light on it versus hiding it," he says.