Sofia Vergara can only take so much joking about her newly single status.
During the Wednesday, September 13, episode of America’s Got Talent, Vergara, 51, who announced her split from husband Joe Manganiello in July, was asked to take a lie detector test by fellow judge Simon Cowell. She answered several questions before costar Howie Mandel pushed her too far.
“Do you see anyone in the audience that you’re interested in?” Mandel, 67, pressed. Vergara’s mouth hung open in shock before she jokingly replied, “That’s It!” The actress then ripped off the lie detector’s arm cuff and walked back to her seat at the judges’ table.
Host Terry Crews chimed in: “That’s it! She’s done!”
This isn’t the first time Mandel has referenced Vergara’s relationship status on the show. Last month, the comedian offered some surprising guidance to 12-year-old ventriloquist Brynn Cummings. While discussing how Cummings’ act included a love connection between her puppets, Mandel said, “I have one word of advice. If you’re looking for eligible bachelors, you should have talked to Sofia, because she’s in the market right now.”
Vergara played along by waving her hands in the air, saying, “Yes!”
After Mandel received some backlash online for the quip, he defended himself to Entertainment Tonight.
“I was helping Sofia! … People said it was too soon and it was tasteless,” he told the outlet, adding that Vergara found the joke “funny.”
Vergara and Manganiello, 46, announced their “difficult decision to divorce” one month prior after seven years of marriage. “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,” they wrote in a joint statement.
Later that month, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that the exes were handling their breakup amicably.
“They still have a few issues to figure out, like custody of their dog, Bubbles, but Sofia hopes they can move forward in a calm, fair fashion,” the insider explained.
As Vergara adjusts to single life, Mandel isn’t the only one rooting for her. Her former Modern Family costar Julie Bowen sang her praises while speaking with E! News last month.
“Everything [Sofia] does, she does with grace,” Bowen, 53, told the outlet. “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 [doesn’t] need one.”
America’s Got Talent airs Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
