LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Popular AGT judge Sofia Vergara and her husband of seven years, Joe Manganiello, have decided to end their marriage, Page Six reports. The couple told the outlet in a statement, "We have made the difficult decision to divorce. As two people that love and care for one another very much, we politely ask for the respect of our privacy at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives.”
The 51-year-old 'Modern Family' star is in Italy, celebrating her birthday with her group of friends, but without Manganiello or her wedding ring. The couple was last seen in June in Hoboken, NJ when the Colombian American actress visited Manganiello, 46, on the set of his new project “Nonnas” with Vince Vaughn.
Why did Sofia and Manganiello call it quits?
A source told the media outlet, "Sofia and Joe have been growing apart for a while now and are taking some distance from each other to contemplate their future.” Sofia is probably having the time of her life with her best friends in Capri as she posted a series of eye-catching photos on Instagram.
However, Sofia's followers were quick to notice that her husband was not getting featured on any of her social media posts, as the 'America's Got Talent' judge later posted a photo with the message, "When life gives u lemons u come to Italy to squeeze them.”
One fan commented, "Is anyone else wondering where’s Joe?” while another penned, "Wondering where her husband is, he hasn’t shown up in any of the photos of videos.”
Manganiello's birthday post to Sofia
Manganiello, who played Flash Thompson in Sam Raimi's 'Spider-Man', also surprised a lot of followers when he posted a birthday tribute to his wife on his own Instagram that plainly read, "!!Feliz Cumpleaños Sofía!!!”
“Am I the only one who doesn’t like the way it sounds? ‘Sofía’ …. not even ‘ My love, My beloved wife,'” one fan commented. Another wrote, "Joe, I hope you guys are ok, that was a very different (cold) happy birthday wish to your wife, compare[d] to previous ones!”
'It’s over. It’s done'
Another source told Page Six, "At the start of Sofia’s big birthday trip those close to her were explaining away Joe’s absence with the excuse that he was busy filming back on the East Coast; that excuse barely held up due to the writers strike, but once the actor’s strike took effect, he could have been on the first flight… and he quite clearly is not. So now no one out there with her is even attempting to pretend that it’s not over. It’s over. It’s done.”
Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello tied the knot in a lavish Palm Beach ceremony in November 2015 in front of 400 guests(Amy Sussman/Getty Images)Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello tied the knot in a lavish Palm Beach ceremony in November 2015 in front of 400 guests that included her “Modern Family” co-star Ariel Winter, Ed O’Neill, Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Julie Bowen, Sarah Hyland, and Ty Burrell, as well as Manganiello’s 'True Blood' co-stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer.
Manganiello asked for the actress’ number a few weeks later after her separation from businessman Nick Loeb. The actor told People magazine in 2020, “I knew pretty quickly that I could trust her, and she knew pretty quickly that she could trust me. And we’re both the kind of people who are capable of putting the other person ahead of ourselves. I was capable of putting her wishes ahead of mine, whatever they were, and she was capable of doing the same. Once you have that, you don’t let go of it.”
