Joe Manganiello And Caitlin O’Connor Apparently Had To “Navigate” The “Kid Conversation” After Sofía Vergara’s Comments Made It Seem Like He Was Having A “Midlife Crisis”
We’ve got some new reports on Joe Manganiello’s reaction to Sofía Vergara’s comments about their divorce.
If you missed it, Joe recently refuted Sofía’s claims that they divorced last year because she didn’t want to have children.
Sofía and Joe were married for seven years. Several months after Joe filed for divorce last July, Sofía confirmed reports that they split because “she wasn’t interested” in having a baby with him.
Speaking to Spanish newspaper El País in January, the Modern Family star — who already has a 32-year-old son — said: “My marriage broke up because my husband was younger; he wanted to have kids, and I didn’t want to be an old mom… I’m ready to be a grandmother, not a mother.”
She discussed the topic a second time during an interview with People in May, explaining that she didn’t think it was a “good idea” to start having kids again in her 50s.
“I was a mother already. 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 told the outlet. “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%.”
While Sofía was publicly saying these things, Joe remained silent. However, he finally addressed her comments in an interview with Men’s Journal this week, where he said his ex’s narrative about the split was “simply not true.”
Weighing in on all that had been published “in the press about [him] wanting a family,” Joe revealed that he and Sofía established that they both wanted kids at the start of their relationship but said it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker if they weren’t able to.
“We did try to have a family for the first year and a half. We had a huge conversation right out of the gate during the first month we dated,” he recalled. “I said, ‘If you’re done with kids, then I understand. Just tell me, and I’ll know what this is, and that’s okay.’ And I swore to her that I would never leave if it didn’t work out. And I didn’t.”
Joe — who said the marriage ended because they “grew apart” — also expressed frustration over how Sofía’s comments may have led to negative assumptions about his character.
“To be painted as if I had some sort of midlife crisis, and after nine years, turned to somebody and gave them an ultimatum of, ‘Do this potentially unhealthy thing to your body, or else I’m gone’? That’s never who I was,” he said.
At 47, Joe is five years younger than Sofía. Two months after filing for divorce, he was rumored to be dating actor, Caitlin O’Connor, who is about 13 years his junior.
We don’t know much about their relationship at this point. However, a source recently told People that all the reporting about Joe’s desire to have kids meant that he and Caitlin were rushed into having conversations about starting a family.
“Joe and Caitlin have a good partnership,” an insider said of the couple, who were first linked in September last year. “The ‘kids conversation’ has been something that Joe and Caitlin have both had to navigate now because of Sofía’s statements, which make it seem like Joe is only in the relationship to have kids and that he is with Caitlin because she’s of ‘child-bearing years.’”
Of the assumption that Joe is dating someone younger purely to start a family with them, the insider said Caitlin “would not enter that kind of relationship.”
BuzzFeed has reached out to Joe’s representatives for comment. You can find the full People report here.
After Everything Sofía Vergara Revealed About Their Split, Joe Manganiello Said It’s “Simply Not True” That He Divorced Her Because She Didn’t Want To Have KidsEllen Durney · July 17, 2024
Sofía Vergara Got Real About The Reason She And Joe Manganiello Got DivorcedLeyla Mohammed · Jan. 23, 2024
Joe Manganiello Has Officially Filed For Divorce From Sofía Vergara, And Here Are All The Details So FarEllen Durney · July 20, 2023