Joe Manganiello’s new memoir reopened a painful chapter of his marriage to Sofía Vergara. The actor described a seven-year illness that nearly killed him and claimed the ordeal changed their relationship beyond repair.
Manganiello said the mysterious autoimmune condition began soon after their 2015 wedding. In Bloodlines, he also challenged Vergara’s public explanation for their 2023 divorce and detailed the physical and emotional toll of his illness.
Joe Manganiello claims Sofía Vergara “ridiculed” him during his near-fatal health battle
In an interview with PEOPLE, Manganiello, 49, recalled becoming progressively sicker during his marriage. He lost 60 pounds, underwent countless colonoscopies and needed emergency intestinal surgery in 2016.
The actor, known for True Blood and Magic Mike, said his symptoms included severe abdominal pain, fever, blistering rashes, headaches, fatigue, and rectal bleeding. “I was getting sicker and sicker,” he said. He eventually required an ostomy bag after part of his intestine was removed.
Manganiello also described the illness as a threat to his 13 years of sobriety. Doctors prescribed medications for nerve pain and Crohn’s and colitis symptoms, but “None of them worked on me.” He said he ultimately relied on powerful pain medication and marijuana while trying to manage his condition. The memoir became more pointed when Manganiello discussed Vergara. He claimed their marriage had “become devoid of any emotionality whatsoever” and alleged that she refused to hug him, even when he begged.
He also said Vergara ridiculed Bubbles, his five-pound Chihuahua. Manganiello adopted the dog in 2019 while struggling with suicidal thoughts. “I had to give my gun away because I kept thinking about it, and then the dog came,” he said. “I went from being the patient to the caretaker.”
Manganiello also disputed Vergara’s explanation for their divorce. She previously said their marriage ended because he wanted children while she didn’t want to become an older mother. He said his illness changed his feelings about fatherhood after failed IVF attempts and discussions about egg donors. He feared dying and leaving Vergara with a child who “wasn’t biologically hers.”
Manganiello later underwent surgery to reconnect his digestive tract and said he became symptom-free. He also credited confronting family trauma with helping him move forward. Now engaged to Caitlin O’Connor, he said his future looked different. “For seven years I thought I was going to be dead the next week. The world has opened back up to me.”
Bloodlines was scheduled for release on Oct. 13.
