Sofía Vergara Clarifies Why Marriage To Joe Manganiello Broke Down
Sofía Vergara knows what she wants — and that a baby with Joe Manganiello isn’t it.
The “Griselda” star announced their “difficult decision to divorce” last year and explained in a candid new interview Wednesday that it was the “fair” thing to do. Vergara, who married Manganiello in 2015, said she simply wasn’t eager to become a mom all over again.
“There’s things in life that might sound like good ideas, but they’re not,” she told People. “I was a mother already. I know what it means to be a good mother or to try to be the best mother that you can, and that takes a lot of sacrifices, takes a lot of energy.”
“Nowadays, thanks to science, women can actually have babies older,” Vergara continued. “Before, nature for some reason tells your body at 50 you are in menopause, it’s time for you to be done with that. There is a reason why nature is doing that.”
Vergara was barely an adult when she and her high school sweetheart welcomed a son in 1991. The 51-year-old told Spanish newspaper El País last year that Manganiello filed for divorce because “he wanted to have kids and I didn’t want to be an old mom.”
“But that’s for me, and I totally respect where anyone wants to be a mom after 50,” she told People. “I didn’t think because of my career, the way I live my life, the way my marriage was, that it was fair to bring a kid to this world, and I’m not going to be able to give 100%.”
Vergara first met the “Magic Mike” star at the White House Correspondents Dinner in May 2014 — and called off her engagement to actor Nick Loeb within weeks. Manganiello proposed to her in December of that year, and they tied the knot in 2015.
On July 17, 2023, the former couple announced their divorce in a joint statement.
“We have made the difficult decision to divorce,” they told Page Six at the time. “As two people that love and care for one another very much, we politely ask for respect for our privacy at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives.”
The announcement arrived shortly after Vergara was spotted celebrating her 51st birthday in Italy — sans Manganiello or her wedding ring. They’ve forged ahead amicably, however, with Vergara dating an orthopedic surgeon and Manganiello seeing actor Caitlin O’Connor.
When asked what she’s looking for in a man these days, Vergara kept it real.
“Health. Money. Fun. With [his own] kids. That’s it. That’s all I want,” she told People.
