Joe Manganiello has shared new details about a severe health crisis in his forthcoming memoir, describing a years-long ordeal involving multiple autoimmune-related conditions that left him fighting for his life and undergoing a life-saving organ removal.
The actor, known for roles in Magic Mike and True Blood, is set to publish Bloodlines on October 13, 2026. The book marks the first time he has publicly addressed the extent of what he went through.
The official synopsis for the book explains: “A cascade of autoimmune-related illnesses attacked his skin, thyroid, eyes, lungs, and digestive system, plunging him into a seven year battle, plagued by chronic pain, a life-saving organ amputation, existential crisis, and a prolonged fight for survival that left doctors with few answers and no clear explanation.”
According to the synopsis, Manganiello explored a wide range of paths in search of answers, including ‘shamans, pagan rituals, ancient myths, long-lost family records and the rebirth of his own spirituality.’ The memoir also follows his investigation into his genealogy, including relatives affected by chronic illness and ancestors who survived the Armenian genocide.
His publisher says the memoir will go beyond the medical crisis to examine illness, inheritance, masculinity, faith, ambition, and identity. It also describes the project as a personal account of what happens when the life a person has built can no longer contain the truth of what they carry.
He has since spoken publicly about the experience, saying the period was among the hardest of his life.
“It was the most brutally difficult time of my life, one I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, but also my greatest adventure,” he told PEOPLE in a statement.
“I hope that what I went through on this journey can give readers hope that answers and healing may lie for them on the other side of whatever they are fighting through. The process of writing this book gave me the gift of perspective that helped me to see that my suffering was a cocoon from which I would emerge forever changed.”
Manganiello has not publicly identified the exact illness or the organ that was removed, but the memoir says the experience included multiple near-death medical crises and years of unanswered questions.
Separate from his health revelations, Manganiello’s personal life also made headlines in 2023 when he and Sofia Vergara announced their separation after seven years of marriage. Their divorce was finalized in April 2024.
The split followed Vergara being seen in Italy during celebrations for her 51st birthday without her wedding ring and without Manganiello by her side.
On July 17 2023, the couple, who had been married for seven years, announced their separation in a statement, which said: “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.”
Two days later, Manganiello formally submitted divorce papers in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The pair first met in 2014 after being introduced by Vergara’s Modern Family co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
Manganiello is engaged to television host Caitlin O’Connor. The couple has since relocated to Pittsburgh, where both have family ties.