Joe Manganiello has offered a detailed account of the health crisis he says shaped the final years of his marriage to Sofia Vergara, alleging that their relationship became emotionally distant as he struggled with a debilitating autoimmune illness.
The 49-year-old actor makes the claims in his forthcoming memoir, Bloodlines, which is scheduled for release on October 13.
An excerpt obtained by People describes years of severe physical pain, multiple medical complications and the strain he says the illness placed on his seven-year marriage to Vergara.
Manganiello Describes Severe Decline in His Health
Manganiello said his health began deteriorating not long after he married Vergara in 2015.
According to the memoir, he experienced severe abdominal pain that at times left him unable to walk.
He also suffered fevers, blistering rashes, headaches, fatigue and rectal bleeding as his digestive tract became ulcerated.
The illness caused him to lose approximately 60 pounds.
In 2016, he underwent emergency surgery in which part of his intestine was removed, leaving him dependent on an ostomy bag.
Manganiello later described his condition as a series of autoimmune-related illnesses affecting several parts of his body, including his skin, thyroid, eyes, lungs and digestive system.
Actor Says Marriage Became Emotionally Distant
In his memoir, Manganiello alleges that his prolonged illness coincided with a profound deterioration in his relationship with Vergara.
He describes the marriage as having become “devoid of any emotionality whatsoever” and claims that Vergara refused to hug him even when he asked her to.
Manganiello also alleges that Vergara mocked him over his decision to adopt a chihuahua named Bubbles during one of the darkest periods of his illness.
The actor said his worsening condition eventually affected his mental health to the point where he considered taking his own life.
Manganiello Recalls 2019 Mental Health Crisis
Manganiello writes that the severity of his pain led him to contemplate suicide in 2019.
He said he ultimately gave his gun away because he was repeatedly thinking about using it.
Around the same period, he adopted Bubbles, saying the dog gave him a new responsibility and changed his role from patient to caretaker.
“I had to give my gun away because I kept thinking about it, and then the dog came. I went from being the patient to the caretaker,” Manganiello said.
The actor also revealed that conventional pain treatments associated with conditions such as Crohn’s disease and colitis failed to provide relief.
He subsequently turned to hydrocodone, fentanyl patches and marijuana despite having maintained sobriety for 13 years.
Health Struggles Became Part of Family Planning Dispute
Manganiello also revisited one of the most widely reported explanations for the couple’s divorce: their differing views about having children.
Vergara said in a January 2024 interview with Spanish newspaper El País that the couple separated because Manganiello wanted children while she did not.
The actress, who has a son, Manolo, from her previous marriage to Joe Gonzalez, said she did not want to become an older mother and felt she was ready to become a grandmother rather than raise another child.
Manganiello has previously disputed that characterization.
Actor Says Couple Tried to Have a Family
In his memoir, Manganiello again rejects the suggestion that their marriage ended simply because he wanted children and Vergara did not.
He says the couple attempted to start a family during the first year and a half of their marriage, including unsuccessful IVF efforts and discussions about using an egg donor.
Manganiello said his worsening health ultimately changed his perspective.
He claims he became concerned about dying and leaving Vergara to raise a child who would not be biologically hers.
“There’s been a lot said in the press about me wanting a family. That’s simply not true,” he previously told Men’s Journal in July 2024. “We did try to have a family for the first year and a half.”
Divorce Was Filed Days After Separation Announcement
Vergara announced the couple’s separation in July 2023 after seven years of marriage.
Manganiello filed for divorce two days later, citing irreconcilable differences and listing July 2 as their date of separation.
The former couple had married in 2015 after beginning their relationship in 2014.
Their differing accounts of the marriage’s collapse subsequently became public through separate interviews, with both actors offering different perspectives on the circumstances surrounding their separation.
Manganiello Credits Alternative Treatment With Recovery
Manganiello says he eventually pursued alternative treatment after conventional medical approaches failed to resolve his health problems.
He has credited a Santa Monica shaman with helping him explore what he described as generational trauma connected to his family’s history, including the loss of nine children by his great-grandmother during the Armenian genocide.
The actor says he is now free of the medication he previously relied on and no longer experiences the pain that once dominated his life.
He also underwent surgery to reconnect his digestive tract.
Actor Says He Is Open to Having Children Again
Manganiello is now engaged to Caitlin O’Connor, 37, and says his outlook on starting a family has changed as his health has improved.
In his memoir, he writes that he is open to having children if that becomes part of his future.
“For seven years I thought I was going to be dead the next week,” he writes.
“The world has opened back up to me.”
Manganiello Previously Kept Illness Private
Manganiello first publicly discussed the severity of his health battle in June, describing it as a debilitating “deadly mystery illness” that had resulted in what he called a life-saving organ amputation.
In an Instagram video, he said he had kept the condition largely private and had shared details only with a small circle of people close to him.
He also said doctors had struggled to identify the underlying cause despite extensive treatment attempts.
According to Manganiello, powerful biological drugs worsened some of his symptoms and produced additional side effects that continued to affect him for years.
