During the third live quarterfinals results show of season 15, the actress's former onscreen husband paid her a special virtual visit.
America's Got Talent gave Modern Family fans a thrill on Wednesday. During the live quarterfinals results show, Sofia Vergara got a special virtual visit from an old friend -- Ed O'Neill!
While talking to members of the virtual audience via video chat on giant screens inside the theater, one of the "random" viewers host Terry Crews called on was "Ed in Hawaii."
The Ed in question happened to be O'Neill, and Vergara was thrilled to see her former co-star and onscreen husband calling in to the show.
"Oh! My husband! Where are you? I miss you so much!" Vergara yelled with delight.
"I have to ask you a question. How did you manage to get the dream job you've always wanted where you get to sit the entire time and someone else does all the work?" O'Neill asked as Vergara laughed.
"I don't know, Ed. God always is so good to me," Vergara replied, adding excitedly that she hasn't yet "fallen down" while serving as a judge on AGT.
"Do you fall down a lot?" Mandel asked.
"You guys have never seen her fall?" asked O'Neill, who worked alongside Vergara for 11 seasons on the celebrated ABC sitcom. "It's like a puppet and somebody cuts the strings. Straight down!"
"I don't go forward or sideways, I just fall straight down," Vergara confirmed with a laugh.
O'Neill also shared his praise and support for the show and expressed his concern for Simon Cowell, who injured his back in a bike accident earlier this month.
"I hope Simon is OK," O'Neill said.
"Well, unlike with Sofia, when he falls it's a bigger deal," Mandel joked.
It was a brief reunion, but still filled with love, and it set a fun tone for the results show, which saw 11 hopefuls get whittled down to just five who will be moving on to the semifinals.
Before any eliminations were revealed, Crews announced which three acts were in jeopardy but had a chance at earning the Dunkin' Save, based on viewer votes. The three acts in jeopardy included the W.A.F.F.L.E Crew dance group, drummer Malik Dope and musician Nolan Neal.
As fans cast their votes, Crews had the job of informing contestants who would be moving on and who had come to the end of their AGT journey.
The three acts who earned the most votes and will be duking it out in the semifinals included aerialist Alan Silva, singer Cristina Rae and magician-mentalist Max Major.
Fans had to bid farewell to the dance group Dance Town Family, young vocalist Annie Jones, contortionist dance group The Bone Breakers and singer Sheldon Riley.
Comedian Usama Siddiquee -- who made headlines Tuesday night for his controversial stand-up routine, which offended judge Heidi Klum -- was also eliminated.
When it came down to the Dunkin' Save, it was W.A.F.F.L.E Crew who were awarded the fourth coveted slot in the semifinals, leaving the judges to vote between Dope and Neal. After some tough deliberation, Dope ended up earning the save with a vote of 2–1.
Cowell's absence had an impact on the gameplay during the results show, since with only three judges, it meant there couldn't be a tie. In the event of a tie, the Judges Save goes to whoever got the most viewer votes. So it's impossible to know what would have happened if Cowell had been on the panel and had voted for Neal.
ET's Kevin Frazier spoke with the trio of AGT judges following Tuesday's show, and Mandel expressed how they all support their injured co-star, and how much they hope he'll return as soon as he's up to it.
"That man is like a superhero, you know? His back has been broken in four separate places, he's had a six-hour surgery where they put a rod in his back. I know that he's up and walking and he's working miracles," Mandel shared. "But first and foremost, he's gotta get healthy."
The comic and longtime judge went on to say that, "even though tonight was a great night, there is a void without the voice of Simon Cowell."
For more on Cowell's recovery and how the show has handled him being gone, check out the video below.
America's Got Talent airs Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
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