How PEOPLE Played a Role in Sofía Vergara and Joe Manganiello's Relationship Years Before Their Divorce
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
“She’s got the curves, she’s got a beautiful face, beautiful hair, just gorgeous. Naturally beautiful. She’s feisty!” Manganiello told PEOPLE of Vergara in 2014
Once upon a time, PEOPLE helped two love birds Sofía Vergara and Joe Manganiello find their wings.
On Monday, the couple announced they were going their separate ways after seven years of marriage. Despite their decision to divorce, PEOPLE once played a hand in bringing the two together.
Back in July 2014, Manganiello gushed over Vergara’s beauty while covering our Hottest Bachelors issue and named her as his celebrity crush. At the time, the Modern Family star was engaged to fiancé Nick Loeb, though they called off their engagement later that year. She and Manganiello began dating soon after and tied the knot in Palm Beach, Florida, in 2015.
Related: Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello's Relationship Timeline
“You’re gonna get me in trouble. I don’t want to be like a home-wrecker. This person is engaged,” he said of Vergara. “She’s got the curves, she’s got a beautiful face, beautiful hair, just gorgeous. Naturally beautiful. She’s feisty!”
The True Blood actor recalled feeling awestruck by his estranged wife while attending the 2014 White House Correspondents' Dinner which he attended as a guest of PEOPLE.
“There was a picture someone snapped at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner where they caught me looking at Sofía Vergara’s butt,” he recalled at the time. “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!”
David Crotty/Patrick McMullan
Joe Manganiello & Sofia VergaraThat wasn’t the first time Manganiello opened up about his first interaction with his soon-to-be former wife. During an appearance on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show, the Magic Mike’s Last Dance star revealed that he “could not take my eyes off her” when the two met at the dinner.
He recalled following her “around all night” until her Modern Family costar Jesse Tyler Ferguson noticed that she had a fan and introduced him to Vergara.
Though their conversation remained casual and consisted of exchanging “pleasantries,” things changed around three weeks later after the actress announced her split from Loeb.
“I hit up Jesse Tyler Ferguson and said, ‘Hey man, was she broken up with the guy at the time?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I wouldn’t have tried to pull anything if that wasn’t the case.’ I said, ‘Man, well, I don’t know what kind of emotional state she’s in, but tell her I want to take her out,'” Manganiello explained.
Ferguson gave Manganiello Vergara’s phone number later that evening “and the rest is history.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
In a statement shared with Page Six, the couple confirmed their plans to part ways following online speculation the two were on the rocks after Vegara was spotted in Italy without her wedding ring.
“We have made the difficult decision to divorce,” they said. “As two people that love and care for one another very much, we politely ask for respect for our privacy at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives.”
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
