Joe Manganiello’s secret seven-year health battle that nearly killed him

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Joe Manganiello is opening up about the secret health battle that nearly “took his life” over seven years.

Manganiello sat down with “CBS Mornings” to discuss his health and his newly released memoir, “Bloodlines.” 

During his appearance, the actor told Gayle King he was offered the role as the main villain, Deathstroke, in Ben Affleck’s canceled “Batman” movie.

He wrote in his memoir that, at the same time as the job offer, he was “dying.” Manganiello received the call to appear in the movie in 2016.

Joe Manganiello had to have his entire large intestine removed to save his life in 2016.(Dia Dipasupil/

“I got the call about a month out of the hospital after I collapsed on another set,” Manganiello told King. “After about a year of feeling these mystery symptoms, I went into the hospital for two months straight and, at the end of my stay, they wound up having to remove my entire large intestine to save my life.

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“They had split me open. My entire large intestine had turned to pus, and it was about to explode,” he continued. “They took it out, and the surgery left me with an ostomy bag. And in the wake of that, I lost 60 pounds in two weeks. I couldn’t walk. My eye went cross-eyed. I lost my voice. I had five catheters.”

“I went into the hospital for two months straight and, at the end of my stay, they wound up having to remove my entire large intestine to save my life.”

— Joe Manganiello

Manganiello explained that, after he was released from the hospital, he was in the process of trying to gain the weight back when he got the call to meet Affleck and appear in the “Batman” movie.

The actor told King he was still married to Sofia Vergara at the time, and she was the one who ultimately made the decision for the doctors to save his life and remove his large intestine.

Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello were married from 2015-2023.(WireImage)

“They had to call her as my next of kin and give her options of what she thought I would want done to me while I was unconscious. She chose the right one, and it bought me time,” Manganiello said. “It didn’t solve the problem. The doctors still had no idea what was causing this, how to treat it. But it bought me enough time.”

“But we do have to credit her for saving your life. For making that decision,” King replied.

“Absolutely,” Manganiello said.

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King went on to cite Manganiello’s memoir in which he wrote that his mystery illness put a strain on his marriage to Vergara. The former couple married in 2015 and announced their separation in 2023. Their divorce was finalized in 2024.

Joe Manganiello’s “mystery illness” symptoms began shortly after he married Sofía Vergara.(FilmMagic)

“That kind of pain was like a flood in my life. You can’t predict how that’s going to affect people. It affected me a certain way, it affected her,” he said. “It was seven years long. People didn’t know about it. I was living in secret with this. Only the closest people around me knew.”

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King mentioned that Vergara’s son, Manolo Gonzalez Vergara, 35, shared a post about a “narcissistic” man on Monday.

Sofia Vergara’s son, Manolo Gonzalez, allegedly shared a post that compared qualities of narcissistic men.(Christopher Polk/

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“Her son posted a thing about, ‘This is what happens when you deal with a narcissistic man,’ and she has liked that post,” King began. “They appear to be saying that, basically, it’s terrible what happened to you, but the bottom line is that you’re a narcissist. What do you say to that?”

Joe Manganiello has released his new memoir.(Michael Simon)

Manganiello appeared a bit shocked before he replied, “Well, I think anybody who said that should read the book first and understand what the book is actually about because it’s not about that. It’s about the suffering I went through.”

“Bloodlines: A Memoir” released on Oct. 13.