Joe Manganiello has opened up about his years-long health battle ahead of the release of his memoir, Bloodlines, and shared how dealing with an ongoing illness led him back to the past.
The Magic Mike actor has not appeared at a public event since August 2025, when he was seen at The Wizard of Oz premiere at the Sphere in Las Vegas, and looked entirely unrecognizable on the cover of his memoir, pointing to his ill health.
In the book, Joe will speak on "a previously undisclosed health ordeal – marked by multiple near-death experiences and medical crises – that led him beyond medicine and into a remarkable, globe-spanning quest that revealed answers about his ancestry, inherited trauma, and the deeper histories we carry," as per the press release.
The 49-year-old shared that his health quickly declined "without warning" as "a cascade of autoimmune-related illnesses attacked his skin, thyroid, eyes, lungs, and digestive system". He added that he was constantly "plagued by chronic pain" and experienced a "life-saving organ amputation, existential crisis, and a prolonged fight for survival that left doctors with few answers and no clear explanation".
As he searched for answers, Joe encountered everything from "shamans, pagan rituals, ancient myths, long-lost family records and the rebirth of his own spirituality," as per the book's synopsis.
The search led to him delving into his ancestry and learning about the family that survived the Armenian genocide. The memoir will also touch on "inheritance, masculinity, faith, ambition, and the identities we build to endure".
© Getty ImagesJoe got candid about the seven-year health battle he endured and shared with People that he hoped the memoir would help others who were experiencing similar issues. "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 said.
"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."
© GettyAside from his health battle, Joe has gone through significant changes in the last seven years, with everything from a high-profile divorce to a major move having an effect. He split from his wife, Modern Family actress Sofia Vergara, in 2023, and their divorce was finalized a year later.
© Getty Images"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 couple said in a statement at the time. He has since moved on with fiancée Caitlin O'Connor, and they relocated from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh to build their lives together.
© Getty"LA has been both of our homes for over 20 years," Caitlin told People. "I was born in LA, but raised in Pittsburgh, so we're both from the same hometown."
"That's what we really connect on, we share the same upbringing, the same hometown knowledge," she added. "And that's what really connects us as a couple. So it's beautiful to be back home together."
