Amid the recent reports of Sofia Vergara‘s divorce from husband Joe Manganiello, her America’s Got Talent co-judge Howie Mandel has now made a comment during one of the episodes last week. As per a report by People, Howie joked about how the 51 year-old is now single and looking for new bachelors as she ‘is in the market.’ (Also read: Sofia Vergara, Joe Manganiello announce divorce after 7 years of marriage: ‘We politely ask for respect of our privacy’)
What Howie said
As per the report by People, in Tuesday’s live episode of America’s Got Talent, ventriloquist and mentalist Brynn Cummings performed an act where she tried to ‘set’ up Heidi Klum with an eligible bachelor puppet named Lovebird. After showering praise on the performance, Howie then went on to add, “I have one more piece of advice for you: if you’re looking for eligible bachelors, you should’ve talked to Sofía because she’s in the market right now.” This was a direct reference to Sofia’s divorce from Joe Manganiello, although the joke did not seem to rest well with the audience.
Julie Bowen’s reaction
Meanwhile, her Modern Family co-star Julie Bowen also reacted to the news about her split and told E! News: “Everything she does, she does with grace. And she rises above and she just goes forward. She’s warm and generous and giving to everybody around her. I have no doubt that if she wishes to be in a relationship she will be but she sure don’t need one.”
The divorce statement
Earlier last month, Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello announced their divorce seven years after their marriage. As per Page Six, the couple said in a statement, “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. Sofia and Joe have been growing apart for a while now and are taking some distance from each other to contemplate their future.”
Sofia and Joe tied the knot in Palm Beach, Florida in November 2015. She was earlier married to her childhood sweetheart Joe Gonzalez. The Modern Family star gave birth to son Manolo in 1991.