Joe Manganiello’s relationship with his fiancée, Caitlin O’Connor, has faced intense public scrutiny over the years, largely because of his highly publicized divorce from Sofía Vergara and their well-known disagreement over having children.
Manganiello, 49, is now engaged to O’Connor, 36, which makes her 13 years younger. That age gap, paired with Vergara’s past comments about why the marriage ended, led many to question whether Joe was pursuing a younger partner because he wanted to have kids.
A source close to the couple previously said they were forced to have the “kids conversation” early on in their relationship because of the public narrative surrounding his divorce. The conversation has returned to the spotlight ahead of the release of Joe’s upcoming memoir, Bloodlines.
Sofia Vergara said her marriage with Joe Manganiello fell apart partly because of their age gap and clash over having kids
The speculation largely stems from comments Vergara made after her divorce from Manganiello. In an interview with El País, the Modern Family star, 54, said their marriage ended partly because Manganiello wanted children while she did not want to become an older mother. Vergara said:
“My marriage broke up because my husband was younger; he wanted to have kids, and I didn’t want to be an old mom. I feel it’s not fair to the baby. I respect whoever does it, but that’s not for me anymore.”
After Joe’s new romance was confirmed, Sofia’s comments quickly shaped the public narrative. When he began dating O’Connor, who is 13 years younger than him, some questioned whether he was looking for a younger woman to have children with. A source close to Manganiello and O’Connor told PEOPLE that the couple had to address those assumptions themselves.
They said, “The ‘kids conversation’ has been something that Joe and Caitlin have both had to navigate.” The source added that Vergara’s comments made it seem as though Manganiello was with O’Connor because she was in her “child-bearing years.” However, O’Connor “would not enter that kind of relationship.”
Joe has also strongly pushed back against the idea that having children was the reason his marriage ended. In an interview with Men’s Journal, the Magic Mike star refuted the suggestion that he gave his ex-wife an ultimatum about having a baby. He said:
“To be painted as if I had some sort of midlife crisis, and after nine years, turned to somebody and gave them an ultimatum of, ‘Do this potentially unhealthy thing to your body, or else I’m gone’? That’s never who I was.”
A source told PEOPLE, “The El País interview is simply not true. Sofía made it seem like it was Joe who turned to her at almost 50 and said, ‘Let’s have a baby now.’ They tried at the beginning of their marriage to have children…. It did not happen.”
Inside Joe Manganiello and Caitlin O’Connor’s Relationship
Manganiello and O’Connor first sparked romance rumors in September 2023, shortly after his divorce from Sofia Vergara was finalized. The pair reportedly met at an unofficial afterparty connected to Winning Time, where O’Connor had a role as ‘Dyan Cannon’. Caitlin later recalled their first meeting, saying that they “hit it off right away.”
Their relationship became more public over the following months, until they finally made their red carpet debut as a couple. In December 2023, Joe and Caitlin packed on the PDA at the Children of Armenia Fund Gala in New York City. Things only seemed to go uphill from there.
Their romance continued quietly before Manganiello and O’Connor took another major step. Manganiello referred to Caitlin as his “fiancée” at the San Diego Film Festival on October 16, 2025. The latter also eventually confirmed the engagement on social media, sharing a photo of the couple with her diamond ring. Manganiello reportedly proposed on June 24, 2025, and the couple has not publicly announced whether or when they plan to have children.
Caitlin O’Connor and Joe Manganiello began after the latter’s seven-year marriage to Vergara ended in 2023. After seven years of marriage, the former couple announced their separation in July 2023 and finalized their divorce later that year.
Recently, Manganiello offered more insight into that difficult period. In his upcoming memoir Bloodlines, the Magic Mike star opens up about his gruelling seven-year battle with a mysterious autoimmune illness and the emotional toll it took on his life and, by extension, his marriage to the Modern Family star. The memoir is set to be released on October 13, 2026.
What are your thoughts on the baby-related speculation regarding Joe Manganiello and Caitlin O’Connor’s relationship?
Image courtesy: Instagram
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