Joe Manganiello is opening up about his marriage, health crisis, and Hollywood disappointments in his memoir, “Bloodlines.” Among its most startling revelations is his account of a shaman who claimed someone from Sofía Vergara’s romantic past had placed a voodoo curse on him, as reported by Fox News.

Manganiello and Vergara married in 2015 after he proposed to her in Spanish in Kauai, Hawaii. They announced their separation in 2023, and their divorce was finalized in 2024.

According to Manganiello, the couple discussed having children early in their relationship and began trying through IVF before becoming engaged.

Joe Manganiello gets emotional opening up about the health struggles he faced and how his now ex-wife, Sofía Vergara, saved his life.

His book, 'Bloodlines: A Memoir,' is out now. https://t.co/rIj10EzJmF — Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) October 13, 2026

After two unsuccessful years, they considered using a surrogate, but abandoned the plan after spending $200,000 because of his mysterious illness.

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One year after the wedding, Manganiello was hospitalized for two consecutive months. He wrote that Vergara hid in the back of her assistant’s car to avoid paparazzi, then wore a wig and hat before entering the hospital through a loading dock.

During his health crisis, Vergara was forced to make a devastating medical decision while Manganiello was unconscious. As his next of kin, she authorized doctors to remove his entire large intestine and create an opening in his abdomen to divert his small intestine.

“When I woke up after the ten-hour procedure, she was there at the foot of my bed to inform me that the surgery had saved my life but had left me with an ostomy bag for an indefinite amount of time, possibly forever,” he wrote.

Manganiello lost 60 pounds in two weeks after the surgery. He said the illness continued for seven years and contributed to the deterioration of his marriage as he withdrew to the opposite side of their home during the day.

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He wrote that his enthusiasm for life faded, along with the couple’s dream of becoming parents. Manganiello described the emotional distance as a turning point, saying the fire between them began to disappear after he returned home from the hospital.

The memoir then takes a bizarre turn with Manganiello’s account of a shaman based in Cuba. He said the shaman somehow knew he was sick and that something was wrong with his intestines, even though close members of his family did not know the extent of his condition.

“Someone from your past is still in love with you. He put a voodoo curse on your husband. He did it in New Orleans,” Manganiello recalled the shaman telling Vergara.

The shaman said Manganiello needed to be cleansed and protected, but explained that the process would require two days and could not happen in the United States. Ecuador was suggested as a possible meeting place.

“I looked at Sofía, trying to comprehend how the f–k this guy could possibly know any of this,” Manganiello wrote. “None of this had been mentioned in the press. No one knew.”

Manganiello eventually wondered whether the person described by the shaman could have been “the guy she was with right before me.” Vergara and Nick Loeb ended their engagement in 2014, the same year she began dating Manganiello.

Manganiello also questioned whether Vergara herself might have been cursed by someone from her past, causing misfortune for men who became involved with her. He acknowledged how strange the idea sounded but remained unsettled by the shaman’s apparent knowledge.

Loeb responded after learning about Manganiello’s account. “I pray they find Jesus — not another shaman,” he told Page Six.

Manganiello wrote that he arranged a new home while Vergara was vacationing in Italy with a friend. After moving from their Beverly Hills home to Venice Beach, he filed for divorce and said that was the last time he spoke with her.

The memoir also details a $500,000 loan Vergara provided to save Manganiello’s 2019 movie, “Bottom of the 9th,” after a major budgetary problem emerged during postproduction. The loan carried 0% interest, and Manganiello still owed her $400,000 when they separated.

Manganiello further claimed that Tom Cruise may have blocked his casting in the Prime series “Reacher” because of Vergara. He wrote that Cruise “could have potentially come in over the top and vetoed my being cast on account of Sofía,” although IMDb Pro does not list Cruise as an executive producer on the series.