Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello’s Marriage Problems Before Divorce: Trial Separations, More

The images were couples goals. In honor of Throwback Thursday on June 29, Sofía Vergara posted a series of photographs on Instagram of herself and husband Joe Manganiello cuddling up during a summer 2022 vacation in Italy. Just days later, though, she began sharing pics from a current getaway to the foreign country — with Joe nowhere in sight. In fact, between July 7 and July 16, Sofía added no fewer than 42 new entries to her grid, including highlights from her 51st birthday celebration that featured the Modern Family alum accompanied by pals instead of her spouse amid her lavish time abroad. “When life gives u lemons,” she captioned one dessert-filled snap, “u come to Italy to squeeze them.”

Anyone unclear about what lemons Sofía was referring to got their answer on July 17 when news broke she and Joe, 46, were ending their seven-year marriage. “We have made the difficult decision to divorce,” they said in a joint statement. “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.”

While the announcement shocked some fans, insiders weren’t terribly surprised. “Sofía and Joe have been having problems for years. Literally, for as long as they have been married, it’s been a struggle,” a source tells Life & Style exclusively, spilling that the pair have previously had two secret trial separations. “They are very different people who fell in love, but those differences never went away and ultimately tore them apart.”

Aside from their gorgeous looks and acting profession, Sofía and Joe don’t actually have much in common. The True Blood star famously liked to host Dungeons & Dragons games in the duo’s basement, while Sofía thrives on traveling and nights out. “Joe is a homebody who doesn’t drink,” says the source. “Sofía is the opposite — she’s the life of any party and loves getting dressed up, having cocktails and dancing until the early hours. At first, they figured it was OK to do their own things with friends. But they spent more time apart than together and enjoyed that time apart way too much.”

Pals are hopeful the divorce won’t get ugly — especially since Sofía and Joe have an ironclad prenup designed to keep her $180 million fortune and his $43 million net worth separate. Joe acknowledged the agreement in court docs filed on July 19, where he cited “irreconcilable differences” as the cause of their split and listed their official date of separation as July 2. “They truly do care for each other and get along, so it wasn’t an easy decision to call it quits,” notes the source. “But a marriage needs more than that."