Sofia Vergara is looking back on the highs and lows in her life.
In a new cover story for Variety, the 52-year-old actress discusses her ex-husband Joe Manganiello and revisits her time on Modern Family.
Vergara starred in the beloved sitcom from its start in 2009 to its conclusion in 2020 alongside Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Sarah Hyland, Ed O’Neill, Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ariel Winter, Nolan Gould, Rico Rodriguez and Aubrey Anderson-Emmons. Vergara’s 11-year role as Gloria, the hilarious trophy wife of Jay Pritchett (O’Neill), put her on the map and landed her four Emmy nominations. Vergara says she would love to go back to that time in her life.
“I’d die to be on that set,” she tells the outlet. “It’d be so much fun.”
Vergara even hinted she’d be open to a Modern Family reboot, suggesting, “A TV movie maybe?”
In a new video for the outlet, Vergara continues to speak fondly on her Modern Family days.
“I miss everything from the actors to the scripts that were so well-written, the whole show, the whole 11 years, I miss all of it,” she says with a smile.
“The craft service was really good too,” the Griselda star adds.
She continues, “You know, as an actress, to be able to land a role as amazing in a show that people loved all over the world, like 80 countries or whatever, it was not only kids or adults, it was just whole families that were so happy to see us and had so many laughs with Gloria and the rest of the cast.”
But Vergara didn’t have as many positive things to say about her split from Manganiello, 47. Manganiello filed for divorce in July 2023, after seven years of marriage. In April 2024, ET confirmed that the A-list stars finalized their divorce.
Since they called it quits, Vergara and Manganiello have disagreed on the reasons behind the breakup. Vergara has repeatedly cited Manganiello’s desire to have children as the cause — the actress’ “deal-breaker,” as she puts it, is “no more kids.” But Manganiello disputed his ex-wife’s claims about their divorce in an interview with Men’s Journal last month, calling her statements “simply not true.”
Vergara briefly addressed their disagreements in her interview with Variety.
“At the end of the day, you never even know if that’s what he said for real,” she says. “I’ve read a lot of things that I’ve said that I’m like ‘Huh?’ What am I gonna do, call him? I don’t know if he even said that.”
Now, Vergara has a new man. The America’s Got Talent judge walked the carpet after the first live show of season 19 on Tuesday and spoke with ET about her boyfriend, Dr. Justin Saliman, who she was first romantically linked to in October 2023.
While the Emmy-nominated actress admitted that it’s still “too soon to tell” exactly why their relationship works so well for them, she said she’s having a great time — as evidenced by her recent trip to Italy, where she was joined by Saliman, last month.
“I’m enjoying life, I’m so grateful to the people around me,” Vergara shared to ET with a smile. “I’m grateful for summer, for the nomination, and now just for AGT. I’m excited to see Simon, Heidi, all of them!”
A source revealed to ET in April that the couple’s relationship “has gotten more serious.”
“They’ve been having a great time together and really enjoy each other’s company,” the source said. “Justin loves Sofia’s enthusiasm, character, sense of humor, and how hardworking she is. They love to have fun dinner date nights and have a natural chemistry whether it’s just the two of them out or if they’re with friends, too.”
“Sofia has moved on from her past relationship and appreciates the lessons she’s learned from it. She is grateful for that experience, but is putting her energy into the future and excited about this new chapter,” the source continued. “Sofia and Joe both just want to move on and be happy in their own lives.”
As for Manganiello, he’s been dating Caitlin O’Connor, who he first met in September 2023. A source told ET in March that their relationship “is serious” and they “both feel like they have finally found the right person and are excited about the future.”
“They’re in the honeymoon stage and in complete and utter bliss,” the insider said of Manganiello and O’Connor at the time. “They’ve been traveling together, going out on fun date nights, and having the best time. They’re looking forward to taking more trips together and continuing to make memories as a couple.”
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