Sofía Vergara is reflecting on a turbulent year — and looking forward to 2024.
The “Modern Family” alum confirmed in July that she and fellow actor Joe Manganiello were divorcing after seven years together. After her fellow “America’s Got Talent” judge Howie Mandel joked about the split on air in September, Vergara famously walked off stage.
The Colombian actor is now sharing just how difficult these past few months have been.
“I’ve had a very interesting year,” Vergara told People in an exclusive interview Thursday. “I don’t want to say ‘bad’ or anything like that, but it’s been very interesting and very difficult.”
“I went through a divorce this year, the SAG strike that went on for so long,” Vergara continued.
The Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America joined forces earlier this year to demand increased payments for actors in successful streaming shows, as well as for protections around the use of artificial intelligence and digital likenesses on screen.
The monumental effort began in July and concluded in October after 118 days.
“I’ve seen my friends struggle — some had to take their kids out of their schools or had problems with their mortgages, so it’s been a weird, weird year,” Vergara told People, in reference to the hundreds of thousands in Hollywood who were left without work.
The strike came at a particularly difficult time for Vergara, who announced her divorce the same month it began. Her joint statement with Manganiello followed suspicions about their separation, as Vergara posted from her 51st birthday vacation in Italy without him.
Amy Sussman via Getty Images
“We have made the difficult decision to divorce,” the former couple told People at the time. “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.”
Vergara has kept busy despite these hurdles, and has already wrapped filming the new Netflix series “Griselda,” in which she portrays the real-life drug lord Griselda Blanco, who ruthlessly had anyone murdered who got in her way.
When asked if 2024 will mark a fresh start, Vergara shared a fairly balanced perspective: “I hope so. I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a fresh start at 51. I don’t know if I’m fresh anymore, but I’m just excited.”