Earlier this week, Joe Manganiello filed a petition to divorce Sofia Vergara, his wife of eight years.
Since then, media outlets have been buzzing about what the reason for their split was, citing everything from the impact his sobriety had on their marriage to their differing views on having children. Joe’s petition chalked it up to there being irreconcilable differences between the two of them, who have reportedly grown apart over time.
On Wednesday, a source told the Daily Mail that with Sofia not living a sober lifestyle, it posed a threat to Joe’s 21-year sobriety, which he has spoken openly about in the past. Sources told the outlet he had been warned about getting into a relationship with someone who wasn’t also abstaining.
The dynamic of one partner being sober while the other isn't is something we’ve also seen play out with Bennifer, especially when JLo recently launched her line of alcoholic spritzes, which I wrote about here. Despite reports that Sofia had been incredibly supportive of Joe’s sobriety, it’s still part of the speculation.
Then there are reports that their divorce had to do with the fact that they had opposing views on children. With Sofia already being a mother to 31-year-old Manolo, who she shares with her ex-husband Joe Gonzalez, perhaps the urgency just didn’t exist for her in the same way it did for Joe.
On top of already being a mom, though, there was also a lengthy court battle over the custody of two frozen embryos, which her former fiancé Nick Loeb was attempting to bring to full term. She ultimately won the case in 2021. But the emotional trauma that can come from feeling like you have no control over the future of something as monumental and life-changing as embryos could have absolutely contributed to her views on whether she wanted more children with Joe.
Between having an adult son, a divorce and a called-off engagement under her belt, it appears Sofia learned a few things along the way, which is likely the reason there was a prenup implemented into her marriage to Joe. With a massive accumulation of wealth estimated to sit at nearly $200 million to protect, it’s no wonder their prenup is being described in the media as ‘iron-clad’.
Against the backdrop of another divorce playing out in the public eye between Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner, prenups are becoming a hot topic. But in Hollywood – when are they not? A judge recently awarded Christine almost $130,000 each month in child support. Sure, it’s a bit less than the $248,000 she was requesting, but it’s a lot more than the $52,000 Kevin had initially offered up.
I’ve written before about how nasty things can get when money is involved. And with celebrities, there is often a lot of money at play. Sometimes it belongs mostly to the man, other times it belongs mostly to the woman, like in Sofia’s case and in Kelly Clarkson’s case, which I wrote about here.
One thing is for sure – when the pressures of marriage arise, whether they have to do with sobriety, differing views on children or just the plain old experience of growing apart, prenups can help to take the pressure away from feeling forced to stay in order to hold on to your wealth. They alleviate the need to concern yourself primarily with what happens to the assets and focus more on what you want.
In this case, it seems like Joe was totally on board with a prenup, telling Howard Stern back in 2015 that when the topic came up, telling Sofia he would “sign whatever” she wanted him to.
With Joe being the one to file for the divorce knowing it means he will no longer have access to her wealth, with him being so willing to sign a prenup in the first place, and of course with the two of them not sharing any children, there’s no reason to believe this will turn into a bitter breakup.
One thing Kelly has lamented about was how long and expensive her divorce was. The emotional turmoil that comes from multiple court appearances, having to fork out so much money to both your ex and to lawyers, it can be an exhausting fight that can become a breeding ground for disgust and hatred.
As someone who has had to navigate the family court system to address issues of custody and child support myself, I can confidently say that unfortunately, after a certain point, that “fight” becomes about winning more than it is about coming to a resolution. It reminds me a lot of the plot behind Marriage Story. When there are lawyers involved that push you to fight and insist they can “take the other party down”, it can turn into an all out war when it doesn’t need to be. A prenup helps to circumvent so much of that.
Because these parties had the foresight to consider how they wanted things to unfold should they decide to go their separate ways, both of them win in the end just by virtue of having a cleancut split. And despite the fact that she wasn’t the one to walk away, I have a feeling Sofia will end up feeling very free in the end. And so will Joe.
