Sofía Vergara's Marriage to Joe Manganiello May Have Been Affected by This Difference in Lifestyles

Sofía Vergara’s split from Joe Manganiello after seven years of marriage rocked Hollywood this week, but friends of the couple are giving clues as to what broke them apart. What many fans may not know is that the True Blood star has lived a sober life for the last 21 years after struggles with alcohol — and that may have come between them. 

An insider revealed to the Daily Mail that the differences in their social lives started to emerge the longer they were married. “Of course, the fact that Sofia is not sober had an impact on their marriage,” they shared. “He was warned about this when he started dating her and again before marrying her. He did not think that he was going to change her, but he also didn’t think about the implications this could have on their marriage.” However, a second source defended the Modern Family star, noting that she “could not have been more supportive” about Manganiello’s sobriety journey.

Vergara doesn’t hide the fact that she enjoys a cocktail or two while on vacation or at birthday celebrations, so he likely didn’t expect her to suddenly give up alcohol. However, a person who chooses sobriety has to make that decision every day, and perhaps that was a challenging part of their union. “For Joe and Sofia, it is not like a casual dinner with friends where someone has a drink and you do not,” explained addiction specialist Katrina Patersen to the media outlet. “That sort of stress and pressure will eventually build up and start affecting other areas of your daily life.”

Manganiello was frank about his addiction to alcohol in a profile with Men’s Health in 2019. ‘Drinking was a way for me not to have to deal with me. And I think that acting was a way for me to not have to be me either,” he said. “So I could go onstage and not be me, come offstage and go to the bar and not be me. Rinse and repeat. I needed to really look in the mirror and get honest with myself about the man that I wasn’t becoming.” While Vergara nor Manganiello have revealed the reasons for their divorce, it sounds like their friends are sharing what might have been an ongoing issue between them.

Before you go, click here to see celebrities who have struggled with drug or alcohol addiction.