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'Modern Family's' Eric Stonestreet explains the surprising reason he's on Tinder

Eric Stonestreet is looking for Ms. Right, and he's willing to swipe right to find her.
/ Source: TODAY

Eric Stonestreet is looking for love, and he's willing to swipe right for the right woman.

The "Modern Family" star told Ellen DeGeneres that he's turned to Tinder — and other dating apps — to meet potential partners, and he's not ashamed to admit it.

"Yes, I have a Tinder account," he said. "Now I've done Bumble and I've tried this other one, and the way I justified it is that ... because I'm on TV, I shouldn't be eliminated from participating in what's going on in the world. But people are always like, 'I can't believe you're on a dating app!'"

What they might find more surprising is the reason. Despite his star status, Stonestreet gets nervous meeting new people face-to-face — though that didn't keep him from flirting with one member of "The Ellen Show" audience. ("Never seen you on Tinder," he said with a smile. "You must not be in my geographical area.")

MORE: Boo! Eric Stonestreet visits 'Ellen' with bodyguards to avoid prank ... and fails

But when DeGeneres tried to find out just how many dates he's had thanks to the apps, she got a glimpse of his shy side.

"Hmm?" he said innocently. "I'm sorry, hmm?"

Without giving an exact number, he assured her, "I've had all varying degrees of fun."

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