Actor Joe Manganiello’s new memoir, ‘Bloodlines,’ offers an intimate look at the severe autoimmune illness that shaped his marriage and ultimate split from Sofia Vergara.
The public narrative surrounding the 2023 divorce of Joe Manganiello and Sofia Vergara centered on a disagreement over family planning—but according to Manganiello’s new memoir. *Bloodlines*. the true story was far more complicated. Released October 13. the book reveals the actor spent seven years battling an undiagnosed. debilitating autoimmune disease that he claims fundamentally altered the trajectory of their marriage.
Married in 2015, the couple initially enjoyed life together, but the situation shifted as Manganiello’s health deteriorated. He describes an onset of symptoms including excruciating abdominal pain so severe he struggled to walk. accompanied by fevers. rashes. and rectal bleeding. His digestive tract ulcerated, eventually requiring an ostomy bag and, at one point, organ amputation. The toll of the illness was psychological as well; Manganiello writes that he struggled with suicidal ideation. a period during which he surrendered his firearm and adopted a chihuahua named Bubbles for support.
In his writing, Manganiello paints a stark picture of the emotional disconnect that grew alongside his physical decline. He describes their partnership as becoming “devoid of any emotionality. ” claiming that despite his pleas for comfort. Vergara refused to hug him. He further alleges that she ridiculed him for the emotional bond he formed with his dog. a claim that underscores the widening distance between them.
While Vergara told the publication *El País* in 2024 that the marriage ended because she did not want to be an “old mom” to her younger husband’s children. Manganiello disputes that characterization. He writes that they pursued IVF without success and that he eventually abandoned the idea of having children with her. fearing the prospect of passing away and leaving her with a child that was not biologically hers. He contends that their marriage did not end over children, but because they had grown apart.
Dr. Dawn Beaulieu. a gastroenterologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center who did not treat the actor. notes that autoimmune diseases can go into remission. While doctors never reached a definitive diagnosis for Manganiello. he describes a turning point involving a consultation with a shaman. which he links to ancestral trauma. He has since undergone a successful reconnection of his digestive tract and reports being symptom-free.
For Manganiello, who is now engaged to Caitlin O’Connor, the book serves as a reclamation of his narrative. He maintains that reports regarding his divorce were often false. asserting that he kept his promise to stay through the marriage’s struggles until the two finally separated. As of now, Vergara has not publicly addressed the claims made in *Bloodlines*.
Joe Manganiello Sofia Vergara Bloodlines celebrity news marriage health autoimmune disease memoir