Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello may still “love and care for one another very much,” but at the end of the day, they’re divorcing… So what’s at stake?
After the bombshell news hit the web Monday that the couple is heading for splitsville, reports have come out left and right about what may have led to their divorce and how they’re feeling about moving on. But the lingering question remains: how exactly will the multi-million-dollar life they’ve so carefully curated together over the last eight years of marriage be split up? Well, a high-profile divorce attorney has some theories!
Related: Why Joe & Sofia ‘Bickered’ All The Time
Frederic Siegel, founding member of Siegel, Colin & Kaufman family law firm (who is not representing either party in their divorce), spoke with Page Six Tuesday about the forthcoming legal proceedings, and speculated that they may actually make it out pretty clean! First, it should be noted that Sofia made it clear back in 2015 she had Joe sign a prenuptial agreement to protect her assets. She told Howard Stern on an appearance on his show that May:
“[Joe] said, ‘Do whatever you want. I’ll sign whatever you want.’”
Boy, we bet she’s thanking her past self now!
Siegel explained that because of that prenup, and the fact that they don’t have kids together, the whole process could potentially be a lot easier than if things were different. His guess? Their marital contract “probably had what is called a walkaway.” He explained:
“She keeps what she has and what she earns, and he keeps what he has and what he’s earned. So with a prenup — and without kids [together] — it becomes a much simpler case.”
Sofia does, however, share her 31-year-old son Manolo with ex-husband Joe Gonzalez.
What could potentially become a bit trickier, however, is their property. The two moved into a massive 11,000-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion in 2015, which according to TMZ, had the $10.6 million bill fronted by Vergara. Last summer, the outlet reported the two renovated the home, adding a movie theater, pool and spa, chef’s kitchen, and gym, and then listed the property for $19.6 million. Around the same time, the couple also purchased another piece of property nearby, which has been under construction since.
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It’s unclear who purchased the new property, or if it was a joint effort, but Siegel suspects the pair may try to handle things as “amicably” as possible to avoid affecting their careers:
“My belief is that they probably are at a more advanced stage [in their divorce] than people would think, because usually when people make the announcement like they made [Monday], they’ve already done some of the preliminary work. It doesn’t look like it’s messy — yet. It’s a good sign when people issue the kind of statement that they did, saying that they wanted to do this amicably, but it doesn’t always work out that way.”
He added the two probably have a confidentiality clause in their prenup to ensure things remain private:
“I think both [Vergara and Manganiello] recognize the fact that if it’s a bad divorce, their careers can be put in jeopardy. It really doesn’t serve anybody. They’ve got very nice careers. They don’t want to be airing their dirty laundry in public.”
Sofia was named the world’s highest-paid TV actress by Forbes in October 2020 following her extremely lucrative run on ABC‘s Modern Family, and her estimated net worth is about $140 million greater than Joe’s at $180 million, compared to his $40 million.
DAMN!
Sounds like neither of them will likely end up hurting too bad once this is all over.
Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments down below!
[Images via Avalon/MEGA/WENN]
