Eric Stonestreet, a longtime friend and former "Modern Family" co-star of Sofia Vergara, said the actress told him she once dated Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez — a disclosure Stonestreet made while addressing recent media attention about Vergara's reported connection to Tom Brady.
Stonestreet, a Kansas City Chiefs fan, discussed the matter on the "Like a Farmer" podcast after the Brady-Vergara story circulated online. He said Vergara, 53, mentioned a past romance with Gonzalez but did not provide specific dates or describe the nature of the relationship. "She used to date Tony Gonzalez way back when," Stonestreet said, adding that he had not known who Vergara was when Gonzalez was playing for the Chiefs.
The comments about Gonzalez, 48, came as reporters and social media users revisited Vergara's reported ties to Brady, 48, which were first widely reported in June. Stonestreet said the Brady reports were part of what prompted the podcast conversation but emphasized that his knowledge of Vergara and Gonzalez's past relationship came directly from Vergara herself.
Gonzalez played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1997 through 2008 before moving on to play with the Atlanta Falcons. He married October González in 2007. Earlier in his life, Gonzalez dated Lauren Sánchez from 2000 until 2002; the pair share a son, Nikko. Sánchez later married Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Sánchez's public profile drew renewed attention this year after she attended the 2025 presidential inauguration in a white outfit that received extensive media coverage. That attention led some observers to revisit Sánchez's past relationship with Gonzalez. Despite a rocky 2002 split that included public accusations between Sánchez and Gonzalez, the two have been reported to maintain a cordial co-parenting relationship and have appeared in social settings alongside their current partners.
Gonzalez has remained active in football coverage. He works as an analyst on "Thursday Night Football," which is broadcast on Amazon Prime Video. Brady, who retired from playing in 2023 and moved into broadcasting, is in his second season as Fox Sports' lead NFL analyst.
Vergara, known for her role on "Modern Family" and currently a judge on "America's Got Talent," has been the subject of intermittent media reporting about her personal life. Stonestreet declined to provide a timeline for Vergara's relationship with Gonzalez, and none of the parties involved offered public confirmation of dates beyond the details already reported about Gonzalez's past relationships and marriages.
The exchange underscores how public figures' past relationships can resurface when new reports draw attention to them. Stonestreet's comments add a previously unpublicized detail about Vergara's past romantic history but do not alter the unverified status of the reports connecting her to Brady.