Joe Manganiello Details Life-Threatening Health Crisis in New Memoir

Joe Manganiello has shared graphic hospital photographs detailing a severe autoimmune disease that nearly cost him his life. The 49-year-old actor's new memoir, "Bloodlines," recounts the excruciating illness that led to the amputation of his large intestine in 2016 and left him with suicidal ideation.

One of the images shows Manganiello in a hospital bed shortly after surgery, connected to IV drips and wearing an ostomy bag. He stated that he lost 60 pounds in the two weeks following the operation. Another photograph reveals an incision on his abdomen where his ostomy bag was removed and his digestive tract reconnected. A third image displays his face covered in welts, which he described as a common symptom of the skin conditions that plagued him during his seven years of illness.

Manganiello explained that his immune system attacked his skin, causing a multitude of conditions. He also detailed in his memoir how his ex-wife, Sofia Vergara, allegedly refused to hug him during his health struggles, despite his pleas. However, he also credited Vergara with authorizing the emergency surgery that saved his life.

In "Bloodlines," Manganiello writes that his health began to decline shortly after his 2015 marriage to Vergara. He experienced severe abdominal pain, rashes, fevers, headaches, and rectal bleeding. He likened his symptoms to a malfunction in his body's control system. While he was hospitalized, his condition worsened, and Vergara made the decision to proceed with the life-saving amputation.

Manganiello stated that the pain was so intense that he considered ending his life in 2019. He turned to pain medication, including hydrocodone and fentanyl, despite having been sober for 13 years. He adopted a chihuahua, Bubbles, to help him cope and transition from patient to caretaker.

The actor also addressed past statements from Vergara regarding their divorce. Vergara had told El País that they separated because he wanted children and she did not. Manganiello disputes this, claiming that his illness led him to abandon the idea of starting a family with Vergara after failed IVF attempts and discussions about egg donors. He stated he did not want to die leaving Vergara with a child who was not biologically hers.

Manganiello is now engaged to Caitlin O'Connor, 37, and expressed openness to starting a family. He credits alternative treatments, including a session with a shaman who suggested generational trauma played a role, for his recovery. He is now off medication and no longer experiences pain.

In June, Manganiello first disclosed his "deadly mystery illness" and the subsequent "life-saving organ amputation." He had previously kept his battle private, suffering in silence while seeking help from numerous doctors who were unable to diagnose his condition. The treatments he received had severe side effects that exacerbated his symptoms for years.