During a recent interview on The Jess Cagle Show to promote his new series Moonhaven, actor Joe Manganiello told a story about his courtship with his now-wife, actress Sofia Vergara.
In an apparent attempt to encourage her to date him, Manganiello showed her a copy of a 2014 issue of People magazine where he graced the cover and was named the No. 1 Hottest Bachelor in Hollywood. At the time, Manganiello was starring in the HBO series True Blood. Vergara wasn’t impressed.
Manganiello explained that after their first date, he had to go on the road for a couple of weeks to work. When he got back, he decided to fly to see her again and was in the airport when he saw that the new People magazine had been released. So, he bought a copy to share with her.
Before showing Vergara the magazine, however, he made it clear that he would understand if she wanted to stay single. “Now, I can’t promise you I’m going to be there at the end of your self-discovery process, but…I’ll deal with it. Life will go on,” he said.
Manganiello then made his move. “I said, ‘But before you make your answer, hold on.’ And I reached into my bag, and I pulled out the People magazine…and I put it down on the table, and I said, ‘Numero Uno.’ And then, I slid it across the table to her.”
Manganiello continued: “And she picked up the magazine, she started flipping through it, and I said, ‘You know, you’re skipping my interview. That’s my article.’ She said, ‘Yeah, I wanna see who else is on the list.’”
Burn! We’re guessing Vergara was probably kidding around with her future husband but talk about a humbling experience. If Vergara had read the article (we’re sure she eventually did), she would’ve seen that when asked what he is looking for in a woman, Manganiello said that he doesn’t like sarcasm. “It’s such a turnoff,” he said.
In an apparent (and very smart) change of heart, he seems to have made an exception for Sofia Vergara.
