Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello announce divorce after nearly 8 years of marriage

Photo: TNS

Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello (pic) have announced they are divorcing after nearly eight years of marriage, according to reports Monday.

"We have made the difficult decision to divorce," the pair of actors said in a joint statement to Page Six. "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."

Representatives for Vergara and Manganiello did not immediately respond to the L.A. Times' request for comment.

Vergara, 51, and Manganiello, 46, met at a White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2014 and started dating shortly thereafter. He proposed later that year on Christmas Day. In November 2015, the couple married in a lavish, star-studded wedding in Palm Beach, Florida.

Rumours of their separation have been swirling in recent months, according to People, after the couple relisted their Beverly Hills mansion, which had been up for sale last summer before they pulled it from the market. (They also own a home in Beverly Park.)

Vergara celebrated her 51st birthday last week Italy, posting photos and videos of herself surrounded by friends and relatives. However, Manganiello was notably absent.

The Magic Mike and True Blood actor commemorated the day by posting a blurry image of himself and Vergara and writing, "¡¡Feliz Cumpleaños Sofía!!!" Commenters on the post noted that something sounded off.

Shortly before Vergara and Manganiello met, the Modern Family star was engaged to businessman Nick Loeb. But the pair called things off that May after dating for four years. Vergara shared that their relationship faded as she and Loeb had difficulty finding time for each other amid their busy work schedules.

Loeb went on to sue Vergara for custody of two embryos the couple had created in 2013, a legal fight that Vergara won in 2021. – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service