Sofia Vergara speaks out about her ‘very difficult year’ after Joe Manganiello divorce

Sofia Vergara has reflected on some of the challenges she’s faced throughout the last year, including her divorce from Joe Manganiello.

The 51-year-old actor spoke candidly about her career and relationships during an interview with People on 16 November, during her skincare brand’s, Toty, launch party. She said that while she’s had a few hardships, she doesn’t necessarily view that as a negative thing.

“I’ve had a very interesting year,” she said. “I don’t want to say ‘bad’ or anything like that, but it’s been very interesting and very difficult.”

The Modern Family alum continued to describe the personal and professional challenges she faced, including ending her marriage of seven years this past summer.

“I went through a divorce this year, the SAG strike that went on for so long,” she explained, referring to the Screen Actors Guild strike that ended on 9 November after 118 days. During the strike, members of the SAG-AFTRA union not only refrained from filming movies and TV shows, but they also didn’t advertise certain projects on social media.

Vergara also revealed that some of her close friends went through their own difficulties in 2023, explaining: “I’ve seen my friends struggle — some had to take their kids out of their schools or had problems with their mortgages, so it’s been a weird, weird year.”

The America’s Got Talent judge then reiterated that the year wasn’t “bad” for her, before noting that she’s excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. “I think all the things are resolving, everything is going to be okay and I’m very excited for next year,” she added.

In July 2023, Vergara and Manganiello announced they would be ending their marriage. In a statement to Page Six, the couple said: “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 for our privacy at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives.”

Days later, Manganiello officially filed for divorce from his ex, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the couple’s split, according to court documents obtained by People in July. He listed the date of separation as 2 July and noted the pair had a prenup.

According to Entertainment Tonight, Vergara and her lawyer, Troy Christiansen, later submitted court documents to enforce the prenup, ensuring that she would be leaving the marriage with her separate property as well as all her separate earnings.

During her recent interview with People, the Hot Pursuit star also opened up about what’s next for her acting career, as her new series with Netflix, Grisela, will be released in January. “I start the world press tour right after New Year’s [Eve], so I’m ready for that. It’s going to be exciting,” she said.

While she said she wasn’t sure if 2024 was her “fresh start”, she acknowledged that she “hopes” that it will be, especially with all the plans she has for the upcoming year.

“I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a fresh start at 51. I don’t know if I’m fresh anymore, but I’m just excited,” Vergara said. “I’m excited for the TV show that is coming. I’m excited for Toty, which has been doing really well since we started and people are loving it because it’s such a good quality product.”

She teased that she’ll have more work to discuss later, adding: “I have a lot of projects for next year that hopefully people will love as well.”

Vergara’s comments about her year ahead also come after she made headlines for hosting the first-ever Modern Family reunion in her home. On 15 November, Vergara, who played Gloria Delgado in the hit sitcom, shared a selection of images and videos on Instagram of former cast and crew members reuniting. Ty Burrell, who played Phil Dunphy, was not there and his absence was marked with a framed photo of the actor held by his on-screen children. Vergara also shared a video of Burrell’s photo on her mantelpiece alongside the caption: “We miss u Ty!!”

However, Vergara’s posts accidentally caused huge worry among the show’s fanbase, as it prompted them to believe for a moment that Burrell had died. The confusion prompted many – including Modern Family star Ariel Winter – to address the confusion on Instagram and clarify that Burrell is very much alive.