Denise is Phil Dunphy's ex-girlfriend and also one of his old friends from high school.
History[]
She formerly dated Phil in High School but they broke up. Over the years, she moved on and went on to marry another man, having a son before they divorced.
She and Phil kept in touch on Facebook until 2010 when Claire thought her messages were more flirty than friendly, even though Phil couldn't see that. To prove her wrong, he invited Denise to the house for them to meet. Although Claire was convinced her intentions were only to catch up with her old friend after hearing Phil talked about her all the time and Denise was being friendly with her. However, Phil realizes that Claire was correct and that Denise is trying to sleep with him and rejects her offers for intimacy while trying to convince Claire that she was right all along. It is also revealed that Denise misunderstood that Phil only wanted to chat with his friend.
Later both Denise and Claire realize that their dating Phil overlapped and Denise leaves the Dunphy home. However, her interest in Phil was retained when she suggested that Claire kick him out and he got to stay at the hotel where she was at.
In Truth Be Told (the only episode where Denise appeared), Alex and Haley work together to trick their innocent and oblivious younger brother Luke into thinking that Denise was his biological mother and not Claire. Luke believes Alex, but later finds out that Claire is his biological mother.