Joe Manganiello went to two shamans amid his life-threatening health battle, and they both put the blame on his then-wife Sofia Vergara. In his new memoir, Bloodlines, the Magic Mike star recounts how one spiritual practitioner linked his illness to his relationship and the couple's fertility issues, while another blamed their marriage struggles on Vergara's exes putting a curse on her.
"Someone from your past is still in love with you," a Cuba-based shaman told the couple. "He put a voodoo curse on your husband...Your husband needs to be cleansed and protected."
The second shaman claimed that Manganiello's illness was a bodily reaction to the couple's inability to have children. "You weren't going to leave her over it," the shaman said, "and so, as soon as you realised that you couldn't have children, your body tried to kill itself so you could get out of it without having it be anyone's fault.
Divorce by death!" The shaman also made some blunt remarks about their marriage, saying Manganiello was "never supposed to marry" the Modern Family star. "You were the big hot guy on TV, and she was the hot girl... but she wasn't right for you," the shaman said.
"Look at what it did to you... while she parades you around like you're her little boy. That's not who you are." Manganiello, 49, and Vergara, 54, announced their divorce in 2023 after seven years of marriage.
The America's Got Talent judge claimed at the time that the marriage ended because Manganiello wanted kids while she didn't want to be "an old mom." However, Manganiello disputes that claim in his memoir, and even blames Vergara for not supporting him through his illness, which, according to him, began right after they got married.
The revelation has sparked widespread discussion across entertainment circles regarding the complex dynamics of celebrity relationships. Fans and critics alike have expressed mixed reactions to the claims made in the tell-all memoir, which sheds new light on the high-profile celebrity split.
Both stars have moved on with their respective lives since the separation, yet past controversies continue to surface through such personal literary projects.