Nearly a year after filing for divorce from Sofia Vergara, Joe Manganiello is denying her claim that their relationship imploded because he wanted a baby.
“There's been a lot of press about me wanting to start a family,” the “Deal or No Deal Island” host told Men's Health in an article published Tuesday. “That's simply not true.”
In January, Vergara, 52, told El País that her marriage “broke down because my husband was younger; he wanted to have children, and I didn't want to be an older mother. I feel like it's not fair to the baby.”
Vergara has a 32-year-old son named Manolo from her first marriage.
Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganello finalize their divorce: 'She is very happy'
Nearly a year after filing for divorce from Sofia Vergara, Joe Manganiello is denying her claim that their relationship imploded because he wanted to have a baby. (Dipasupil Day/Getty Images)
However, Manganiello, 47, told Men's Health that the former couple tried to get pregnant at first.
“We tried to have a family for the first year and a half,” he revealed. “And we had a great conversation right from the beginning, within the first month that we were dating. I said, 'If you don't want to have kids anymore, then I understand. Just tell me and I'll know what it is and it's no problem.' But that wasn't the case with her. And I swore to her that I would never leave her if it didn't work out. And I didn't.”
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Manganiello filed for divorce in July 2023 after eight years of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
The former “True Blood” actor said that although he wanted to have children, he and Vergara didn't succeed because “two people grew apart, and sometimes that happens.”
Sofia Vergara with her son Manolo in 2017 (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
She also told the magazine that she was hurt by the story that he left her because she didn't want to have children.
“Being portrayed as having had some sort of midlife crisis and, after nine years, giving someone an ultimatum: 'Do this thing that may be harmful to your body or I'm leaving.' That was never who I was,” he explained.
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Manganiello is now dating actress Caitlin O'Connor, 34, and Vergara is in a relationship with orthopedic surgeon Justin Saliman. (Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for Netflix and Hollywood Curtain/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
Last year, the couple issued a joint statement saying: “We have made the difficult decision to divorce. As two people who love and care for each other very much, we politely ask that our privacy be respected at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives.”
Manganiello is now dating actress Caitlin O'Connor, 34, and Vergara is in a relationship with orthopedic surgeon Justin Saliman.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Vergara's representatives for comment.
