Maria Bello Comes Out As a Modern Family

Star of Prime Suspect and Touch reveals her current romance with Clare Munn.

The 46-year old actress and mother of one publicly disclosed her past and present romantic relationships in an essay published in the New York Times’ Modern Love column this past Friday.

Born in Norristown, Pa., a stone’s throw from Philly, Bello is a graduate of Villanova University, where she discovered her passion and talent for acting. Since the 1990s, she has starred in numerous TV series, such as ER, Prime Suspect and Touch. Her big screen appearances include the movie sequel Grown Ups 2, as well as the recent thriller Prisoners, alongside co-stars Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Bello’s 12-year old son, Jackson, inspired her disclosure about her relationships in the Modern Love column where she discusses her romantic involvement with both genders.

After being sick and hospitalized over the summer, Jackson asked Bello about her love life. This was the moment Bello had anticipated and dreaded the most. While recounting her relationships with ex-boyfriend, Bryn, and ex-husband, Dan, she told her son the most vital and intimate piece of information about her life to date. She admitted that she is in a romantic relationship with media executive, Clare Munn.

Surprisingly, the column was never proposed to be a ‘coming out’ story, per se, but rather a glimpse of what it is like to be a ‘modern family.’ Bello was raised in a traditional family that accepted her choice to love whomever she chose. The actress felt proud of her son’s reaction to her relationship, as Jackson replied back, “Mom, love is love, whatever you are.”

Then Bello became worried about the impact it would have on her career, and the labels she would be affiliated with after her disclosure. She concluded her essay by straying far from labels and assumptions about her modern family. Bello labels herself as ‘whatever,’ just as her son says.

“Whomever I love, however I love them, whether they sleep in my bed or not, or whether I do homework with them or share a child with them, ‘love is love,’” Bello says. “And I love our modern family.”


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