Sofia Vergara says age played a role in breakup with Joe Manganiello

Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello | Image: Instagram/@sofiavergara @joemanganiello

Sofia Vergara revealed that her breakup with Joe Manganiello was due to their age difference, and his desire to have children with her when she wanted the opposite.

In an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais, the 51-year-old Vergara was asked how she was feeling in life personally since she is now considered “in full middle-age.”

Vergara said her age gap with Manganiello, 47, as well as their differing perspective on having children have put a damper on their seven-year marriage that eventually led to their separation last year. 

“Well, I’m newly divorced from my second husband (Manganiello), who I was with for 10 years. My marriage broke up because my husband was younger,” she said. 

“He wanted to have kids and I didn’t want to be an old mom. I feel it’s not fair to the baby. I respect whoever does it, but that’s not for me anymore,” the “Modern Family” star further said.

Vergara had a son from her first marriage with Joe Gonzales. She told the interview that her son is old enough to give her grandchildren. Meanwhile, if love comes knocking at her door, he better bring his own children with him, as her body is no longer equipped to bear another child at her age.

“I had a son at 19, who is now 32, and I’m ready to be a grandmother, not a mother. So, if love comes along, he has to come with [his own] children. I’m almost in menopause; it’s the natural way of things,” she said.

The comedy actress expressed that she is now leaning towards a life where she will just serve as a secondary support for the kids that her son will have.

“When my son becomes a dad, let him bring the baby to me for a while and then I’ll give it back to him and go on with my life; that’s what I have to do,” she said.

In July 2023, the former couple released a joint statement announcing that they made the “difficult decision” to divorce after seven years. 

“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,” they wrote.

In less than a year, the two seemed to have moved on, as Manganiello now dates actress-model Caitlin O’Connor, while the “Griselda” star has been recently spotted on multiple dates with orthopedic surgeon Justin Saliman.