Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello Have Apparently “Been Growing Apart for Some Time Now”

As Marie Claire reported earlier today, Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello are divorcing after seven years of marriage, releasing a joint statement that said “We have made the difficult decision to divorce. As two people that love and care for one another very much, we politely ask for respect of our privacy at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives.”

While their decision to split may come as a shock to the public, People reports that the couple have been growing apart for a while and have different focuses in life. “They have been growing apart for some time now and tried to resolve things, but they are focused on different areas of their lives,” a source close to Vergara told the magazine. 

The source described the couple’s marriage as a “passionate, all-encompassing romance, which kept the flames hot for quite a while.” A second source agrees, saying “I have never seen two people so in love, so passionate, and so happy. They were always laughing, lovey-dovey, and really happy. There was a magical glow above their heads. They are both real people and down to earth.”

So what went wrong? The source close to Vergara said the pair’s flame just died out over the years. “They definitely love and respect each other, but once that initial passion dies down and other areas get in the way, then little differences get bigger,” the source said. The second source said those so-called “little differences” are what ultimately caused the marriage’s demise: “They had differences in how their lives should go forward, and it caused stress,” they said.

Vergara and Manganiello met through Vergara’s Modern Family costar Jesse Tyler Ferguson at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner back in 2014. Manganiello proposed in December of that year, and they married in November 2015. The source close to Vergara said the actress always had reservations about marrying a fellow actor, saying “Sofia is a smart and hardworking girl who thinks of everything that could go wrong before it actually does. Joe is pretty low key, and for years this suited both of them. This has been chipping away for a while.” 

Vergara recently celebrated turning 51 in Italy on a trip with friends that Manganiello did not join her for. And the proof might have been in her Instagram caption from this past weekend: “When life gives u lemons u come to Italy to squeeze them,” she wrote. Another sign of the impending announcement? Last month, the two put their Beverly Hills home on the market—for an asking price of a cool $18 million.