Joe Manganiello claims shaman told him Sofia Vergara's ex caused his illness with 'voodoo curse'

Joe Manganiello is claiming that his recently disclosed illness may have been related to witchcraft in one of his most bizarre revelations to date.

Manganiello, 49, alleged in his newly released memoir, Bloodlines, that a Cuba-based shaman claimed to him that his mysterious illness had been caused by a 'voodoo curse' cast on him by a former partner of Vergara, 54.

According to Page Six, Manganiello wrote that the shaman's theory shocked him, as his illness had not been reported on at the time, and many of his family members weren't even aware that he was ill then.

The Magic Mike actor admitted that he theorized that the alleged curse might have been put on him by Vergara's former partner, Nick Loeb, who engaged in a lengthy court battle with Vergara for years after their 2014 split regarding the fate of two fertilized embryos created while they were together.

Manganiello's fantastical theories came to light as sources claimed to TMZ that his ex-wife Vergara – who recently shared a cryptic post about 'narcissistic' men – didn't get any advance notice about what he planned to write about her in his memoir. 

In a statement to the Daily Mail, Manganiello's representative said: 'So many people are suffering and searching for answers for themselves or for loved ones in pain caused by an autoimmune disease. The goal of the book is to let people know they are not alone, told by someone who for seven years privately battled a brutal, excruciatingly painful autoimmune disease that almost killed him multiple times and yet he survived. The disease broke his entire life, and everyone in it was affected.'

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Vergara for comment but has not yet received a response. 

According to Page Six, Manganiello wrote in his new memoir that he received a call from the Cuba-based shaman, who told him that he was 'sick' and claimed that 'something is wrong with his intestines.'

'There were members of my close family who didn’t know any of that, let alone some random guy on the phone,' the actor wrote, adding that he gave Vergara a 'look that was equal parts fear, anger, and disbelief.'

According to Manganiello, the shaman then claimed that someone who bore Vergara ill will had put a curse on him.

'Someone from your past is still in love with you. He put a voodoo curse on your husband. He did it in New Orleans,' he claimed the shaman said.

The shaman then said Manganiello had to be 'cleansed and protected,' which he offered to do. 

However, the shaman said he wasn't able to come to the United States, but he offered to meet Manganiello in Ecuador for the treatment, which he said would last two days.  

But Manganiello couldn't get over the fact that the shaman allegedly knew that he was suffering from a serious illness despite having disclosed it to so few people.

'I looked at Sofía, trying to comprehend how the f*** this guy could possibly know any of this,' he continued. 'None of this had been mentioned in the press. No one knew.' 

As he tried to wrap his head around what the shaman had said, Manganiello mused about which of Vergara's exes could have been responsible for the curse.

His thoughts turned to 'the guy she was with right before me,' Vergara's former fiancé, Nick Loeb, 51.

She and Loeb began dating in 2010 and got engaged two years later, but they ended their engagement and split in 2014.

But that wasn't the end of their connection, as Loeb waged a court battle with Vergara beginning in 2015 over the fate of two fertilized embryos dating from their relationship that had been produced via in vitro fertilization.

In a 2015 op-ed in the New York Times, Loeb claimed that 'keeping [the embryos] frozen forever is tantamount to killing them.'

He eventually dropped his lawsuit against Vergara in 2017, after the Modern Family star was successful in getting the court to order Loeb to identify two women who had abortions after he had impregnated them.

In court filings obtained by the Daily Mail in 2017, Vergara argued that Loeb's 2014 deposition, in which he shared details about his sexual history and the women he impregnated, should be introduced into evidence.

Vergara's legal battle with her ex coincided with her relationship with Manganiello, whom she began dating in 2014 after splitting from Loeb. 

According to Page Six, Manganiello described Loeb as a 'trust fund baby' who had been incapacitated in the hospital for a significant time after he broke 'almost every bone in his body' in a 'horrendous car wreck' while with Vergara. 

Manganiello wrote that he considered the possibility that it was Sofia who had been cursed – not him – 'by some man in her past who couldn’t have her, so he put some sort of hex on her so that for the rest of her life,' which she would 'transmit to any man who got together with her.' 

He admitted that it was 'crazy' for him even to consider such a thought, but he kept coming back to one question: 'How did the shaman know all of that about me?' 

Manganiello said the shaman claimed the alleged curse had been placed on him in New Orleans, which happened to be where Loeb had once lived.

'Why did the most insane thing I’d ever heard have to make so much f***ing sense?' wrote Manganiello, who said he started looking up flights to Ecuador after the conversation.

In a response to the Daily Mail, Loeb replied: 'I pray they find Jesus – not another shaman.'

The revelations from Manganiello's book come as sources claimed to TMZ that the True Blood actor didn't give Vergara advance notice of what he planned to write about her in his memoir.

They claimed that she didn't receive an advance copy either, and that Manganiello didn't feel a need to tell her about it because the two aren't in communication anymore. 

They also claimed that Manganiello had been taken off guard by his ex's previous comments about their relationship, so he felt he had the right to respond and defend himself publicly. 

It was previously reported that Manganiello claimed in his memoir that Vergara had 'ridiculed' him and refused to hug him during his struggle with a mysterious autoimmune disease, which allegedly left him struggling with suicidal thoughts. 

After getting together in 2014, Manganiello and Vergara got engaged six months later on Christmas Eve of 2014, and they went on to tie the knot in November 2015. 

But the marriage came to an end in July 2023, when they announced plans to divorce, which was finalized in February 2024. 

Vergara began dating the orthopedic surgeon Justin Saliman later in 2023, while Manganiello has been dating the actress and model Caitlin O'Connor since September 2023.