Joe Manganiello Says He ‘Followed’ Wife Sofia Vergara Around The Night They First Met

Joe Manganiello says it didn’t take long for him to fall for his wife, Modern Family actress Sofia Vergara. In an interview on SirusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show, People reports that Manganiello discussed the first time he met his wife at the 2014 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Manganiello was Cagle’s guest.

“As we’re walking around, who comes swooping down in front of us for about 100 yards is Sofia Vergara. She was wearing this dress that looked great on her, and I just could not take my eyes off of her,” the True Blood actor said.

He recalled he then told Cagle that he wanted to go wherever Vergara was headed next, “so we just kind of followed her around.”

Cagle elaborated on the story, saying that it was his job to “babysit” Manganiello, so he agreed to simply follow Vergara around and “stare at her from behind.” Vergara’s Modern Family co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson also played a crucial role in their romance. It was Ferguson who came up to Manganiello later in the evening and told him that Vergara wanted to introduce herself.

“I said, ‘Oh, your friend Sofia whose fiancé is also at this party?'” Manganiello said.

The actor went on to say Ferguson explained that Vergara was a big fan of Manganiello’s work, which was why she wanted to meet him.

“I didn’t know what he was up to. I was like, ‘Is he gonna get me into a fight in my tuxedo here? What is going on?'” Manganiello continued.

Apparently, the couple’s initial meeting was pretty casual, with the two of them exchanging little more than pleasantries. Vergara was engaged to Nick Loeb at the time, but three weeks after meeting Manganiello, she announced that she had broken off her engagement.

After that, Manganiello explained that he reached out to Ferguson to ask him whether Vergara and Loeb were broken up at the time. Ferguson said yes, and that he wouldn’t have tried to introduce the two of them otherwise. Manganiello immediately seized on the opportunity, telling Ferguson that while he didn’t know what kind of emotional state Vergara was in, he would love to take her out.

Ferguson then gave him his co-star’s number and the two of them talked while she was in New Orleans filming Hot Pursuit. He told her he would be flying to New Orleans to see her and the two had their first date. Just seven months later, he proposed.