Originally appeared on E! Online
Sofía Vergara expected quite a different reaction to the end of her marriage with Joe Manganiello.
The "Modern Family" actress, who's become beloved for playing Gloria Delgato-Pritchett on the ABC sitcom, knew her divorce from the "Magic Mike" actor last year would stir up some talk in the press.
"You're out there and people know — that's part of being a celebrity," Vergara explained during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning on Jan. 14. "I knew it was going to happen. You can't hide those things."
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However, the 51-year-old thought the conversation surrounding the split was going to be a little, er, less kind.
"It wasn't bad," the former "America's Got Talent" judge revealed. "I have to say the press was very respectful and very nice, and I thought that they were going to invent more things. I was surprised that they kind of just said what it was and that was it."
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Manganiello, 47, and Vergara were married for eight years before calling it quits in July 2023, and Vergara said she's since been "moving on" with her life. Her latest gig, playing real-life Colombian businesswoman Griselda Blanco on the upcoming Netflix drama series, "Griselda," is certainly proof — it's the total opposite of her light-hearted "Modern Family" role.
"[Griselda] was this Colombian woman in the '70s and the '80s that actually took over the drug dealing business not only in Columbia [but] here in the United States too," Vergara said of the character. "When I thought of Griselda, I wanted her to be like Tony Soprano. I wanted her to be a character you didn't hate even though they are a bad guy."
"Griselda" is set to premiere on Netflix on Jan. 25, less than a year after the Colombia native reflected on going through a "very difficult" time personally and professionally in the wake of her breakup.
"I went through a divorce this year, the SAG strike that went on for so long," Vergara told People in November. "I've seen my friends struggle — some had to take their kids out of their schools or had problems with their mortgages, so it's been a weird, weird year."
Still, she ended on a hopeful note, adding, "It's not like it's bad. I think all the things are resolving, everything is going to be okay and I'm very excited for next year."
