‘AGT’: Howie Mandel Cracks Joke About Sofia Vergara’s Single Status Amid Divorce

Howie Mandel didn’t hold back ribbing the newly single Sofia Vergara during the first live shows of America’s Got Talent Season 18. Tuesday’s episode of the NBC talent competition marked Vergara’s first TV appearance since news broke last month that she and husband Joe Manganiello had decided to split after seven years of marriage, and Mandel’s unexpected joke about their divorce shocked even host Terry Crews. 

Mandel’s comments came after the “adorable” performance of 12-year-old ventriloquist and mentalist Brynn Cummings. “I have one word of advice,” he told the young performer. “If you’re looking for eligible bachelors, you should have talked to Sofia, because she’s in the market right now.” The comment elicited laughter and gasps from the audience, but the Modern Family star seemed to love it, waving her hands in the air and shouting, “Yes!” Crews eventually calmed the crowd, yelling from the stage, “No, no, we’re not doing that here!”

Vergara and Manganiello officially confirmed their decision to divorce last month, saying in a statement to Page Six at the time, “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 for our privacy at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives.” The Magic Mike star filed for divorce just two days later, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split and listing their date of separation as July 2.

At the time, an inside source told PEOPLE that the two had a “rift” that formed in their relationship over their differing ideas about having a child together. Vergara, who has a 31-year-old son from her marriage to Joe Gonzalez from 1991 to 1993, reportedly “wasn’t interested” in having another child, while Manganiello, who does not have any children of his own, “really wanted to have a baby with her.” Another source told the outlet at the time that the stars “differ immensely in style and what they like to do, although during the marriage, each tried to put the other’s interests ahead of their own to make it work.”

Rumors of difficulties within the former couple had circulated since Vergara was spotted celebrating her 51st birthday without Manganiello and without her wedding ring. The duo was last photographed on the red carpet together at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in March 2023, and Manganiello last posted pictures with Vergara on Instagram on June 8. The stars originally tied the knot in a stunning Palm Beach, Florida, wedding in November 2015 in front of 400 guests.