Sofía Vergara is not only a beloved actress and America’s Got Talent judge, but she has also had a highly publicized love life. The Modern Family star has been married twice, first to her high school sweetheart, Joe Gonzalez, and later to actor Joe Manganiello. Sofía and Joe Manganiello were married for nearly eight years before calling it quits in July 2023, and in October 2026, he reopened the story with explosive claims in his memoir, Bloodlines.
The pair confirmed their breakup in a joint statement to Page Six.
“We have made the difficult decision to divorce. As two people that love and care for one another very much, we politely ask for respect of our privacy at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives.”
Days later, Joe filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
According to court documents obtained by HollywoodLife, the couple had a prenup in place, and both agreed to keep their individual assets and cover their own legal fees. Sources close to the pair said the marriage ended over differing views on expanding their family. Sofía later echoed that, saying Joe wanted children while she did not, but he disputes that account in his book.
Below, learn more about Sofía’s two ex-husbands and the marriages she shared with each of them.
Joe Manganiello
Sofía and Joe first met through her Modern Family co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in 2014. At the time, Sofía was engaged to Nick Loeb, but that relationship ended a few weeks after the event. Joe was smitten from the start, as he later explained.
“There was a picture someone snapped at the White House Correspondents’ dinner where they caught me looking at Sofia Vergara’s butt. When you talk about being manipulated, that’s what I’m talking about. It’s like a moment of Zen. There is nothing in my brain. If only I could meditate that well. I don’t go after other people’s women. She’s got a guy. If she was single, I would be like, poof!”
Once word got around that Sofía was single, Joe made his move by asking Jesse for her phone number. She didn’t feel ready to date at first, but Joe eventually won her over, as Jesse recalled on The Late Late Show with James Corden.
“When she broke up with her fiancé at the time, Joe — like, immediately, the moment it was out in the world — called me and was, like: ‘I need her number.’ And then I called Sofia and I was, like, ‘Can I give Joe your number?’ And she was, like, ‘Ay, no!’ … but like, wanting me to give the number: ‘Oh no, you go ahead, okay, okay.’ And so I did the number exchange and he took over from there.”
Their first date came later in 2014 in New Orleans, where Sofía was filming Hot Pursuit. Joe described the confident invitation that got him there on “The Jess Cagle Show.”
“I said, ‘I’m coming to New Orleans. If you’re not available, I’m just gonna do some sightseeing, but I’m gonna be there and if you’re free I can take you out.’ She said, ‘You’re crazy.’ I said, ‘I’ll see you next week.’”
The romance went public in August 2014, when Sofía gushed about her new beau to Extra.
“You know I’m just having a great time and it’s a special time in my life and I’m trying not to think too much about it. It’s something very new so we will see what happens.”
She added that she had already introduced Joe to her family in Miami. When asked whether she approved of him, she had a quick answer.
“What is there not to approve of?”
The couple moved in together by November 2014 and got engaged the following month. They married on November 22, 2015, in front of family and friends at the Breakers Resort in Palm Beach, Florida, and Sofía shared a gorgeous wedding photo of the newlyweds at the altar on Instagram.
“Goodnight. Gracias.”
Weeks later, they made their red carpet debut as husband and wife at the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and they stepped out side by side at plenty of events in the years that followed. In 2020, Joe opened up to People about how quickly he knew Sofía was the one for him.
“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.”
By 2023, things had changed. A source told Page Six that the marriage had been quietly fading for some time.
“Sofía and Joe have been growing apart for a while now and are taking some distance from each other to contemplate their future.”
What Did Joe Manganiello Say About Sofía Vergara in His Memoir?
Bloodlines hits shelves on October 13, 2026, and in it, Joe reveals a seven-year battle with a mysterious autoimmune illness that began shortly after their wedding and led to emergency surgery in 2016, TMZ reported.
The True Blood star claims that Sofía refused to hug him while he was sick and mocked his attachment to Bubbles, the chihuahua he adopted to help him cope. He also writes that he gave up on having children during his illness after rounds of IVF failed, which contradicts her explanation for their divorce.
Sofía hasn’t directly responded, but on October 9, 2026, she shared a post about the difference between good men and narcissists, which her son, Manolo, had posted first, according to TMZ.
Joe has since found love again. He got engaged to actress Caitlin O’Connor in October 2025.
Joe Gonzalez
Long before she met Joe Manganiello, Sofía married her first husband, who was also named Joe. The pair said “I do” in 1990, when Sofía was still a teenager, and welcomed Manolo in 1991. Their marriage ended in 1992, just two years after the wedding.
Not much is publicly known about their love story, since it unfolded before Sofía became a household name in Hollywood. Still, Manolo, her only child, has shown his dad plenty of love online. In June 2017, he celebrated Father’s Day with a sweet Instagram throwback of the doting parent holding and feeding him as a baby.
“Happy Fathers Day!! Te quiero! #ThanksForGivingMeYourOliveSkinTone #AndCanklesToo”
