Julie Bowen opens up about Sofia Vergara’s single life after Joe Manganiello divorce

Julie Bowen has shared her thoughts about Sofia Vergara’s new life as a single woman, following her divorce from Joe Manganiello.

The actress, 53, subtly addressed the reports about Vergara’s split after seven years of marriage during an interview with E! News on 21 August. Bowen shared that, despite the fact that she doesn’t have the best moves, she’d be open to a night of dancing with her newly single friend.

“I would like that very much,” she said. “Oh, but she would be so mad at me because I can’t dance. She’s such a good dancer. She just does this slow hip roll for hours. And that’s a lot of what hanging out with her is - it’s slow rolling it for a long time.”

The Modern Family star also expressed that she and Vergara have both been busy throughout the summer, so they’re planning on having a hot girl winter, a term coined for Megan Thee Stallion’s song, “Hot Girl Summer”.

“We’re gonna have to see, she’s been travelling a lot and so was I,” she explained. “We have to wait for the summer to cool down.”

Bowen went on to praise Vergara for her approach to various challenges she’s faced throughout her life. She also noted that, while the Hot Pursuit star could start dating again when she’s ready, that doesn’t mean that she needs to.

“Everything she does, she does with grace,” Bowen continued. “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 don’t need one.”

When news first broke that Vergara and Manganiello split last month, Bowen didn’t hesitate to praise her “single” friend. In the comments of Vergara’s Instagram post, where she posed in a blue bathing suit, the Happy Gilmore star wrote: “This is what single and [fire emoji] looks like!!!” along with multiple red hearts emojis.

Bowen’s comment came one day after Vergara and Manganiello announced they would be ending their marriage. In a statement to Page Six, the couple said: “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.”

Days later, Manganiello officially filed for divorce from his ex, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the couple’s split, according to court documents obtained by People on 19 July. He listed the date of separation as 2 July and noted the pair had a prenup.

According to Entertainment Tonight, Vergara and her lawyer, Troy Christiansen, later submitted court documents to enforce the prenup, ensuring that she would be leaving the marriage with her separate property as well as all her separate earnings.

The divorce news also came as Vergara was celebrating her 51st birthday during a trip through Italy. While she’s shared posts from the vacation on Instagram, none of the photos had featured Manganiello.

Earlier in July, fans speculated that the couple was having issues in their marriage after Manganiello shared a birthday tribute to his wife of seven years. Instagram users had claimed that the post was surprisingly “cold,” and that the True Blood star should have written a more “loving” tribute to Vergara.

Amid the news of their divorce, a source claimed to People the pair had been going through some “ups and downs for a long time,” but “always put on a good front publicly”.

“[Sofia] is sad that her marriage didn’t work out, but she feels very fortunate anyway. She has a great life that she loves,” they said. “She is staying at her house for now. Joe is living elsewhere.”