Sofia Vergara joked about her single status following her split from husband Joe Manganiello when an America’s Got Talent contestant hit on her during the Qualifiers round.
The flirty exchange came during the Tuesday, August 29, episode of the NBC series as comedian Ahren Belisle gave his second performance of the season. Belisle, 28, who has cerebral palsy and is nonverbal, performed a standup routine using a text-to-speech app with his service dog at his side.
After demonstrating that one of his dog’s “primary services” is to bring him beer, Belisle proceeded to flirt with Vergara, 51, who has been a judge on the reality competition series since 2020.
“Now No. 2, fetch me a girlfriend,” Belisle instructed his canine companion. When the dog didn’t move, Belisle continued, intentionally messing up Vergara’s name: “You’re ruining my set, you jerk. Go fetch Sofia Viagra.”
Vergara laughed and called out: “I’m here! I’m single!” The Modern Family alum’s estranged husband, Manganiello, 46, filed for divorce last month after nearly eight years of marriage. Two days prior, the duo addressed their split in a joint 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,” the exes said.
News of the pair’s separation broke while Vergara was on vacation in Italy with friends. The actress was overseas when she celebrated her 51st birthday on July 10, which sparked speculation that she and Manganiello’s relationship was on the rocks.
While Vergara and Manganiello had a history of packing on the PDA and singing each other’s praises, their relationship changed over the past year.
“Joe and Sofia split because they were living different lives,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly last month. “There wasn’t cheating or anything like that. They both realized that they were rarely on the same page.”
The insider added that Vergara is “very social” while the Magic Mike actor is “more of a homebody,” and the twosome’s differences caused distance between them.
“She would rather go out with friends and he would rather stay home, so they wouldn’t spend a lot of time together,” the source explained. “They’ve been living separate lives for about a year now, so it was time to call things off.”
Newly-single Vergara’s playful reaction to Belisle’s flirty comedy routine isn’t the first mention of her finding love with the help of America’s Got Talent. Her cohost Howie Mandel recently joked about letting the show’s viewers decide who the Colombia native should date next.
“Let’s try and do it by the end of the season. We’ll find her a match and leave it to America to vote,” Mandel, 67, said during an interview with Extra earlier this month. He also told the outlet that he’s not worried about Vergara’s romantic prospects.
“I think everybody watching [AGT] who is available believes they’re the perfect match for Sofia,” he said. “I don’t think Sofia, to be honest … she doesn’t need my help. She really doesn’t. I believe that she’ll be fending them off.”
America’s Got Talent airs Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
