Sofia Vergara opens up about dealbreaker that ended her marriage to Joe Manganiello

Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello first announced their divorce in July 2023

Sofia Vergara has continued to open up what brought her marriage with Joe Manganiello to an end.

The 51-year-old actor spoke candidly about breaking up with her husband of seven years during a recent interview withPeople, as she was featured on the cover of the magazine’s “Beautiful Issue.” Her comments came months after she revealed her relationship ended because Manganiello wanted to have children and she didn’t, noting that she didn’t want to “be an older mom”.

Speaking to People, the Modern Family star acknowledged that when she publicly discussed what caused her split, it felt “empowering”. She also further explained why she doesn’t want to be a parent again. She shares a 32-year-old son, Manolo Gonzalez, with ex-husband Joe Gonzalez.

“There’s things in life that might sound like good ideas, but they’re not. I was a mother already,” she said. “I know what it means to be a good mother or to try to be the best mother that you can, and that takes a lot of sacrifices, takes a lot of energy.”

She still went on to applaud how there are now opportunities for women to have children later in life if they want. “Nowadays, thanks to science, women can actually have babies older. Before, nature for some reason tells your body at 50 you are in menopause, it’s time for you to be done with that. There is a reason why nature is doing that,” she said.

While the Griselda star said she “respects women over 50” who want to have a baby, she emphasised that this wasn’t a lifestyle that was fit for her.

“I didn’t think because of my career, the way I live my life, the way my marriage was, that it was fair to bring a kid to this world, and I’m not going to be able to give 100 per cent,” she added.

In January, Vergara revealed that her marriage ended due to her and her ex’s different opinions about having children. “I’m newly divorced from my second husband, who I was with for 10 years. My marriage broke up because my husband was younger; he wanted to have kids and I didn’t want to be an old mom,” she said, during an interview with El País.

She also acknowledged that if she had a baby, it wouldn’t have felt “fair” to the newborn. “I respect whoever does it, but that’s not for me anymore. I had a son at 19, who is now 32, and I’m ready to be a grandmother, not a mother,” she said.

Her remarks came months after representatives for the former couple issued a statement to Page Six about their separation. “We have made the difficult decision to divorce,” Vergara and Manganiello said in the 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.”

Last month, the former couple officially finalised their split, according to court documents obtained by Entertainment Tonight. The report said that a judgement of the dissolution of Vergara’s and Manganiello’s marriage was entered, officially terminating their partnership and making them legally single.

In February, the pair first agreed to end their marriage amicably. According to previous court documents obtained by TMZ, Vergara and Manganiello agreed “to keep the assets they accumulated individually over the course of their seven years together”. The document also noted that they didn’t have to worry about “spousal support,” since “both of them waived any right to alimony”.

Although Vergara hasn’t publicly announced if she’s in a new relationship, her ex has. In February, Manganiello went Instagram official with his new girlfriend, Caitlin O’Connor, who he’d been romantically linked to since September.