Jo Manganiello's Seven-Year Secret Battle for Health That Nearly Killed Him

Jo Manganiello reveals that Sofia Vergara made the lifesaving call to have his colon removed while he was unconscious during a hidden health crisis.

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Joe Manganiello opens up about the secret health battle that "took over his life" for almost 7 years.

Manganiello sat down with "CBS Mornings" to talk about his health and his newly released memoir, "Bloodlines." During his appearance, the actor told Gayle King that he had been offered the role of the main villain, Deathstroke, in Ben Affleck's canceled Batman movie.

He wrote in his memoirs that he was "dying" at the same time as he was offered the job. Manganiello received a call to appear in this film in 2016.

"I got out of the hospital about a month after I fell on another set," Manganiello told King. After about a year of experiencing these mysterious symptoms, I went to the hospital for two months straight, and at the end of my stay, they had to remove my entire colon to save my life.

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"They tore me open. My entire colon was turned to pus and it was about to explode," he continued. "They took it out and the surgery put me in an ostomy bag. And after that, I lost 60 pounds in two weeks. I couldn't walk. My eyesight was messed up. I lost my voice. I had five catheters."

"I went to the hospital for two consecutive months and at the end of my stay they had to remove my entire colon to save my life."

Manganiello explained that after being released from the hospital, he was trying to gain weight when he got the call to meet with Affleck and appear in "Batman."

The actor told King that he was still married to Sofia Vergara at the time, and that she was the one who ultimately decided to have doctors save his life and remove his colon.

Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello were married from 2015 to 2023. (WireImage)

"They had to call him as my next of kin and give him options that he thought he wanted to do to me while I was unconscious. He chose the right option and it took me a while," Manganiello said. "It didn't solve the problem. The doctors were still figuring out what was causing it, how to treat it, but it gave me enough time."

"But we have to give him credit for saving your life. For making that decision," King replied.

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King went on to refer to Manganiello's memoir, writing that his mysterious illness put a strain on his marriage to Vergara. The former couple married in 2015 and announced their separation in 2023. Their divorce was finalized in 2024.

Joe Manganiello's "mystery illness" symptoms began soon after he married Sofia Vergara. (Magic movie)

"That kind of pain was like a flood in my life. You can't predict how it affects people. It affected me in a certain way, it affected him," she said. "It went on for seven years. People didn't know about it. I lived with this in secret. Only the people closest to me knew."

King noted that Vergara's son, Manolo Gonzalez Vergara, 35, shared a post Monday about a "narcissistic" man.

"His son posted about 'This is what happens when you meet a narcissist,' and he liked the post," King began. "They seem to be saying that basically what happened to you is terrible, but the bottom line is that you're a narcissist. What do you call that?"

Joe Manganiello has released his new memoir. (Michael Simon)

Manganiello looked a bit shocked before replying, “Well, I think whoever says that should read the book first and find out what the book is actually about, because it's not about that. It is about the suffering I suffered."

"Bloodlines: A Memoir" was released on October 13.

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