‘What I Went Through’: Sofía Vergara’s Son Takes Ruthless Dig at Mom’s Ex-Husband Joe Manganiello, but the Actor Says There’s More to the Story
Joe Manganiello and Sofía Vergara were once one of the hottest couples in Hollywood.
But after seven years of marriage, the two shockingly called it quits. Vergara said they broke up because Manganiello wanted children, since he was younger and had not become a father yet.
When she started dating Manganiello, the “Griselda” star was already 41, and her son was around 23.
But according to Manganiello’s new memoir, “Bloodlines,” Vergara’s version of why they divorced is not true.
Instead, Manganiello claims Vergara, 54, had a cold reaction to him when he needed comfort during his battle with a chronic illness.
In an Oct. 8 post, Vergara’s son, Manolo Vergara, defended his mom, and she co-signed, prompting a response from Manganiello.
To his Instagram stories, Manolo shared a graphic post that broke down the difference between a good man and a narcissistic man.
The left side listed actions that good men do, such as “apologize,” “tell the truth,” “love you,” “celebrate you,” and more.
The other side said narcissistic men “blame shift,” “lie,” “resent you,” “act like Peter Pan,” as well as other things.
Under the graphic, Manolo wrote, “Remember kids … it doesn’t matter how much you do for a [narcissist]. They will resent you for it and nothing will ever be enough and they’ll always somehow try to paint you as the bad guy.”
Vergara added to the response by reposting the story to her page with a hand clap emoji.
Neither post named Manganiello. However, because the posts appeared the same day as his bombshell interview with People, readers speculated that she directed the barbs at him.
On Tuesday, Oct. 13, Manganiello responded to the narcissism comment during his interview with “CBS Mornings” host Gayle King.
He said, “Well, I think anybody who said that should read the book first and understand what the book is actually about because it’s not about that. It’s about the suffering I went through.”
“My book isn’t about my marriage,” told King. “My book is about this journey what I went through.
Last week, Manganiello was doing press for his memoir when he told People how Vergara treated him as he battled a near fatal auto-immune disease.
He said his symptoms started not long after they wed in 2015 and Vergara stood by him at first. He experienced abdominal pain that prevented him from walking, rectal bleeding, fevers, rashes, fatigue, and headaches.
The “One Tree Hill” actor even lost 60 pounds. He underwent emergency surgery that saved his life and removed part of his intestines. The 49-year-old credited Vergara with deciding to undergo the surgery.
Manganiello claimed that it was because of this illness that he had given up on having his own children, which is why he says Vergara’s original claim for their divorce was false.
He said they initially tried and failed several IVF attempts before they were considering an egg donor. But the “American Heiress” actor ultimately decided he did not want to risk dying and leaving his wife with a child that wasn’t hers.
For seven of the past 10 years, he has battled this autoimmune disease, and it eventually took a toll on his marriage.
He claimed Vergara once refused to hug him, even when he begged her to. Manganiello said she also ridiculed him for adopting his five-pound chihuahua Bubbles, which he said he got to save him from committing suicide.
While the “True Blood” star did not reveal what the disease specifically is, he did tell the outlet that a shaman in Santa Monica told him generational trauma was the cause of his illness.
He says his great-grandmother lost nine children to genocide in Cuba, and his grandmother suffered from lupus. He believes that revelation led to his remission.
Fans responded to news about Manganiello’s reply to his ex-wife in Page Six’s comments.
One person staying neutral wrote, “They were a lovely couple, it’s a shame that it didn’t work out.” A second person blasted Manganiello, writng, “He is a Desperate Cry Baby whom is Broke.”
On People, one fan responding to Vergara’s repost of her son’s narcissist graphic wrote, “She sounds like she is describing herself!”
Manolo dubbed Manganiello “Joe Volume 2” in 2015 because he shares his father’s first name, Joe Gonzalez. The joke stems from Manganiello sharing the same first name as Manolo’s biological father, Joe Gonzalez.
Manganiello is now engaged to Caitlin O’Connor, whom he began dating in 2023.
That same year, the “Archenemy” star filed for divorce from Vergara. The couple finalized their divorce in 2024.
In 2023, Vergara dated surgeon Justin Saliman for a few months before their relationship ended in 2024.
Now she is dating jewelry executive Douglas Chabbott, whom she started seeing in 2024.
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