Eric Stonestreet Says His “Modern Family ”Costars Are the People He'll 'Grow Old with' (Exclusive)

Nearly five years after their beloved series wrapped, the Modern Family cast is still as close as ever.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, star Eric Stonestreet, 53, spoke about his tight bond with his costars while talking about his new partnership with Kiddie and Ring.

Stonestreet portrayed Cameron Tucker on the hit ABC sitcom alongside his on-screen husband, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, their daughter Aubrey Anderson-Emmons and his in-laws, Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter, Nolan Gould and Rico Rodriguez. The 11-season series premiered in September 2009 and concluded in April 2020.

“We are such a close unit,” Stonestreet shared. “We all are in communication with each other," he added, confirming there is a group text, too.

“We all love each other. It was no doubt from the beginning of that,” he said before recalling one of his first memories of the cast: “This is dark and macabre, but I remember thinking, ‘Wow, I have a whole lot of new people that I'm going to grow old with and know for the rest of my life.’ ”

Related: Jesse Tyler Ferguson Jokes Modern Family Cast Couldn't 'Get Out of the Building' After Emmy Loss Following Winning Streak (Exclusive)

“I was like, 'I can't believe that I'm gonna know Jesse Tyler Ferguson for the rest of my life,' ” he said. “And with Ed O'Neill, it was like, 'I can't believe I know Ed O'Neill and that he's my friend.' And now I can't believe I did 11 years with Ed O'Neill."

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When asked to share a favorite set memory, Stonestreet admitted he couldn't pinpoint just one.

"There are so many of them," he said, adding, "It's much more about the collective of how we work together and love each other.”

“I feel our love for each other dictated how great the show was — in addition to the writing, the directing, the sets and all that stuff,” he added. “But there's no way that show is successful, as successful as it was, without us being individually great people and then collaborating with great people as well.”

With their friendship extending beyond their series, Stonestreet said that he kept his castmates in mind when building his dream home with fiancée Lindsay Schweitzer in Kansas City, Kan.

“We wanted to create spaces that we could invite Jesse Tyler Ferguson home. We wanted to create spaces where, if Sofía [Vergara] is coming through Kansas City, that we have a great place for her," he said.

Related: Eric Stonestreet Says He and Jesse Tyler Ferguson Were 'Hurt' by Pass on Modern Family Spinoff: Would've 'Been a Slam Dunk'

Along with ensuring space for his onscreen family at his new home, the actor told PEOPLE that he “absolutely integrated” Kidde’s new Smart Smoke and Combination Alarms (Smoke + CO) with the Ring app. The actor partnered with the home tech company to urge homeowners to try the new product, which monitors and alerts residents of carbon monoxide levels. The Ring technology allows users to check the insights wherever they are.

“What I really love about it is that if I'm away and Lindsay's home, I'll get the notification that the levels have reached a level we need to address,” he told PEOPLE. “It's amazing that we have this level of defense for these things that, unfortunately, sometimes are inevitable.”

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All 11 seasons of Modern Family are available to stream on Hulu and Peacock.

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