Joe Manganiello and Caitlin O'Connor 'were forced to talk about kids' (2024)

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Joe Manganiello and Caitlin O'Connor were forced to discuss having children early in their relationship due to Sofia Vergara's remarks about her divorce from the actor.

In January, the Modern Family actress, 50, said she and Manganiello, 47, called it quits in July 2023 after seven years of marriagebecause he wanted kids and she did not.

'The 'kids conversation' has been something that Joe and Caitlin have both had to navigate now because of Sofía's statements, which make it seem like Joe is only in the relationship to have kids and that he is with Caitlin because she's of 'child-bearing years,'' a source told Peopleon Wednesday.

The insider insisted Caitlin 'would not enter that kind of relationship.'

On Tuesday, Joe denied Sofia's claim that his desire to have children played a factor in their decision to end their marriage.

'There's been a lot said in the press about me wanting a family. That's simply not true,' he told Men's Journal. 'We did try to have a family for the first year and a half.'

'It's because two people grew apart, and sometimes that happens,' he explained.

'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,' he added.

In January 2024,Vergara told the Spanish publication El País that she and Manganiello called it quits because he wanted kids and she did not.

'I didn't want to be an old mom,' she said. 'I feel it's not fair to the baby. I respect whoever does it, but that's not for me anymore.'

She continued: 'I had a son at 19, who is now 32, and I'm ready to be a grandmother, not a mother. So, if love comes along, he has to come with [his own] children.'

The source for People said, '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.'

Echoing Joe's words, the insider said the former couple simply 'grew apart.'

Joe and Sofia announced their divorce last July.

'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,' they said in a statement.

Only two days after announcing their split, the True Blood actor filed for divorce and listed their date of separation as July 2.

The reason for the end of their marriage was cited as 'irreconcilable differences.'

Following their separation, Sofia has found solace in a new relationship with orthopedic surgeon Justin Saliman.

Meanwhile, Joe and Caitlinrecently enjoyed a 'very romantic trip' to Paris, where they stayed at a hotel with views of the Eiffel Tower.

Sofia Vergara