ABOVE: Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita. (Photo courtesy Instagram)
Emmy-nominated actor and “Modern Family” star Jesse Tyler Ferguson now has a modern family of his very own. The actor became a first-time father on July 7 when he and his husband, lawyer Justin Mikita, welcomed the birth of their son, according to an official statement from Ferguson’s rep.
Ferguson and Mikita are elated at reaching this new milestone in their lives.
“The new parents are overjoyed and excited for this new journey as a family of three,” Ferguson’s rep told People Magazine.
Ferguson initially revealed that he and Mikita were expecting a child to late-night talk show host James Corden in January.
“This is something I haven’t even mentioned to anyone, if we could just keep it between the three of us and you all, but I’m actually expecting a baby in July with my husband,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson also refrained from disclosing the sex of his unborn son at the time, “only jokingly confirming that the baby would be ‘human.’”
Ferguson and Mikita’s son was named Beckett Mercer and the name Mercer, in particular, holds an added significance for Ferguson and Mikita, as it serves as a reference to the location of the couple’s wedding back in July 2013.
Justin and I appreciate all the kind words about our new little bundle of joy, Beckett Mercer Ferguson-Mikita! We have always loved the name Beckett and the middle name, Mercer is the street in NYC where we got married almost 7 years ago! We are so thrilled to be new dads!
— Jesse Tyler Ferguson (@jessetyler) July 12, 2020
However, not everyone was a fan of the name, as reflected by a social media comment someone posted in response to People’s reporting of Beckett’s birth.
“What a stupid name, seriously,” Instagram user pedx5000 said.
Ferguson took a moment to respond to the user and pointed out the irony of their comment in light of a recent post they’d made.
“‘If we could all just get along as one nation’ — you four Instagram posts ago. Sending love to you sir, from us and Beckett,” Ferguson replied.
Ferguson was on the family sitcom “Modern Family,” which ran on ABC for 11 seasons from September 2009 to April 2020. On the show, he portrayed the role of lawyer Mitchell Pritchett. During the show’s run, Ferguson was nominated at the Primetime Emmy Awards for five consecutive years in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Ferguson is currently the host of the HGTV reality-television series “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
