Sofia Vergara is giving Joe Manganiello custody of her dog Bubbles, who hates her

Before today, I never realized that Sofia Vergara is a dog-mom to a Chihuahua who hates her. Her Chihuahua is named Bubbles, and Sofia adopted Bubbles several years ago. Even though Bubbles was supposed to be Sofia’s dog, Bubbles fell instantly in love with Joe Manganiello. So much so that Sofia even complained about it in multiple interviews, how Bubbles is obsessed with Joe and how Bubbles always bites her. Well, now that Joe and Sofia are getting a divorce, Sofia is cutting her ties with the dog who hates her.

Sofia Vergara has reportedly handed her 10-year-old Chihuahua-Pomerainian mix, Bubbles, over to estranged husband Joe Manganiello without a fight.

“Not in a million years would Joe part ways with his dog Bubbles and Sofía is well aware of this,” a source told the Daily Mail on Tuesday. “Neither one of them is bitter or out for revenge, and Sofía loves Bubbles and wants her to be happy which is precisely why she’s letting Joe have custody.”

The insider added that the “Modern Family” alum was “gracious” about Manganiello — who filed for divorce from Vergara on July 19 — keeping the pooch after their split.

“[Manganiello] said Sofía has the biggest heart and would never do anything to intentionally hurt him or Bubbles,” the source added.

Under California State law, pets are considered personal property when couples are dividing their assets. However, after a new law was passed in 2019, judges presiding over divorces can now take into consideration the best interest of the pet’s well-being and may establish shared custody agreements at their discretion. It appears that the former couple — who shared no children together aside from their furry friend — decided to keep Bubbles out of court.

Though Vergara was the one to adopt Bubbles two years ago, the “Spider-Man” actor has seemingly bonded with the pooch the most. In 2021, Vergara, 51, joked on “The Tonight Show” about how Bubbles chose the “True Blood” alum over her. “She hates me. She was supposed to be for me. She was supposed to be my dog. She arrived to the house and I don’t know, she thought she was for Joe and that’s all she wants to do.”

[From Page Six]

Sometimes that just happens with cats and dogs – they choose their person and they choose who they irrationally hate as well. I’m the person who usually bonds with other people’s dogs and cats. People are always like “oh no, don’t pet her, Bitsy is a holy terror, she hates other people” as Bitsy is rolling around, showing me her belly and begging for scritches. Anyway, it’s kind of funny that Sofia is cutting her ties with the dog who hates her. She’s right to do it too – Bubbles will be much happier with Joe. In fact, this was probably Bubbles’ plan all along.

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Photos courtesy of Sofia’s IG.

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32 Responses to “Sofia Vergara is giving Joe Manganiello custody of her dog Bubbles, who hates her”

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  1. JanetDR says:

    Wishing all three of them the best going forward!

  2. Roscoemama says:

    I work in Hudson Yards in New York City, and whenever they were in town, they must have stayed near that area because I spotted him twice on different occasion walking Bubbles. Picture a 6’5 man walking a chihuahua, caught everyone’s attention.

    • Mel says:

      @Roscoemama- I work in Hudson Yards also. I think I need to leave the building more often. LOL!

      • Bingo says:

        oooh! I work in Hudson Yards adjacent, my company was too cheap for the actual Hudson Yards!! Man, I need to stop working from home so I can catch some Joe eye candy!

  3. Kitten says:

    Bubbles is adorable. Sofia keeping it classy and doing the right thing.

  4. Glad bubbles is going to her favorite human. I hate when there are fights over who gets the pets.

  5. AlpineWitch says:

    I can relate to this so much! My husband used to have a dog and although she didn’t hate me when we got together but she was clearly distant and transformed in a Tasmanian devil if it was just me going for walks with her. Although I can understand she might have had issues due to jealousy towards the ‘new’ addition to the family unit, but it really made me sad as I never had any issues with dogs previously.

    This is almost the same with our 3 cats. Although all of them are post-marriage, the last girl we got is in love with my husband and sometimes she has badly scratched me and growled at me. Needless to say, if I ever were to divorce my husband there wouldn’t be any contention about who gets who 🤣🤣

    • Brandy Alexander says:

      My cats are the same, sans the scratches. We got a beautiful Himalayan kitten during the pandemic and she was supposed to be mine. But I had to work and my husband was at home, so she’s his (kind of – she’s not a cuddler by nature, but she always wants to be in the same room as him and near him). And we just added a rescue kitten to the family for fathers day, when my husband saw him and fell in love. He’s pretty cuddly with both of us, but also usually chooses to be near my husband if he has the choice between the two of us. So, both of my cats like me well enough, but they follow my husband around and pine after him. LOL

  6. Jais says:

    Finally the true cause of the divorce is revealed. It was Bubbles all along 😂

    • HeyJude says:

      Bubbles the other woman. Poor Sophia, ending up on the wrong end of a love triangle like that.

      • cf86713 says:

        This reminds me of Modern Family where Jay/Stella were totally attached and Gloria hated it.

  7. Concern Fae says:

    LOL. Joe was the alpha of the house. Everyone warned my sister that the dog she had raised from a puppy and was very close to might switch allegiance when she got married. Sure enough, the traitor, who she had well trained and completely obeying her, was now basically saying “We’ll see what husband says about that” when given a command.

    But yeah, it has to suck when “your” dog prefers your partner. Glad to see that she’s being gracious about it.

  8. Isa says:

    I’m gonna make a generalization here, but I feel like tiny dogs always seem to bond with the bigger human. Kind of as their protector to back up their bark.

  9. Bumblebee says:

    Awww! Will Bubbles and Sophia miss each other? Maybe a little. But they will be happier in the end. And Joe too! (Since she’s a rescue maybe Sophia reminded Bubbles of a person from her past who was not nice to her.)

  10. MaryContrary says:

    We got a second dog because my husband really wanted a Great Dane (I was fine being a one dog household along with an ancient semi-cranky cat.) And wouldn’t you know it-this dog worships me. LOL. He’s a rescue so maybe he extra bonded with me. If we ever split up (god forbid), I would totally end up with “his” dog.

  11. frankly says:

    We have a chihuahua that does. not. care. at. all. what anyone says except me. Any time someone else tells her to do something, she looks at me like, “Is that how it is?” and I’m like, “Eh, humor them.” and she’s like, “mmmmm, ok.” This was not anyone’s intention, that’s just how it turned out. She picked me, and that’s that. She looks just like the short-haired “Cheese Tax” dog, and my husband says the “Where the heck is mahm?” song hits too close to home.

  12. Tree says:

    I’ve been sad about their divorce. They seemed happy together. They may even find each other again in a few years.

    • Coco says:

      Weren’t you just yesterday saying how you feel she throwing him away, trotted him out and how she used him and got her money’s worth out of him.

  13. QuiteContrary says:

    LOL, life imitates art. In “Modern Family,” Sofia’s character disliked Jay’s dog.

    Glad she’s doing the right thing for Bubbles.

  14. The Hench says:

    I love all animals but some you just do have a special bond/understanding with. My parents had a red setter and right from the first moment she and I just gelled, even though she wasn’t my dog and months would go by without me seeing her. It’s like people – sometimes your personalities just fit.

  15. Jessica says:

    Awww good for her, doing what’s best for the dog and taking her ego out of it, love her for that! Animals really do imprint on random people like that lol. I’m also the person who will be on the floor cuddling with pets when their owners say they don’t like most people, I can’t think of many things that make me happier than winning over animals.

  16. P says:

    Chihuahuas especially seen to be one-person dogs! My family had one when I was growing up. My dad had one when he was a kid so everyone thought she would be his dog. Turns out she worshipped my mom, who thought she was the most ridiculous creature (but loved her). Then, in her last three years, her allegiance switched to me since I was home with her more than my parents.

    I also had a dog when I met my partner and the morning after he slept over for the first time, my dog (1 year old at the time) PEED ON HIS PILLOW. Now, after 9 years together, my dog loves loves loves my partner, but I am still his person, probably because my partner also has his own dog (we met at the dog park lol). Dogs are so funny, but all animals have their own personalities.

    Power to Bubbles for making her preference clear and good for Sofia and Joe for responding appropriately. I’m sad they’re divorcing, but I hope they can make a clean break and find what they’re both looking for.

  17. JEM says:

    I am dying at that picture of Bubbles in her leopard print dress and insane cake!

  18. mycatlovestv says:

    Sofia did the right thing. And there is absolutely a fur baby out there who WILL love her the best! (It would be wonderful if she rescued a pup – or kitty – who needs her love.)

  19. s808 says:

    It’s good that she’s bowing out and letting bubbles be with the parent they like best. Ofc I don’t know the ins and outs but this seems like it’s an amicable divorce.

  20. Grey says:

    This story made me laugh and is sweet all at the same time. My husband and I got a dog together and man, that dog HATED my husband if I was around. Like he would bark at him constantly (which I am sure got a bit old) and there were a few snaps where he thought he was protecting me. If I was gone, my hubby was acceptable but if I was there everyone else could suck it.

    I am glad Bubbles gets to stay with Joe, it is the kindest thing to do for the dog, and both of them look better from this story coming out, it seems like some sort of olive branch or truce in the media.

  21. jferber says:

    Well, if her dog hates her and he loves Joe, the dog should go with Joe. Let the dog’s happiness be their guide in this. And she is, so good on her.

  22. jferber says:

    Also, I like the resigned expression on Sofia’s face as she fully realizes her dog’s hatred. It’s humbling, I guess.

  23. Normades says:

    The “this was probably Bubbles’ plan all along.“ made me laugh so hard.