Joe Manganiello Makes Red Carpet Debut With New Girlfriend Caitlin O’Connor After Sofia Vergara Split

Joe Manganiello just made things official with his new girlfriend, Caitlin O’Connor. The new couple made their red carpet debut two months after he filed for divorce from his estranged wife, Sofía Vergara. 

Joe, 46, and Caitlin, 33, looked snazzy while posing for pictures on December 9 at the Children of Armenia Fund gala in New York City at Broadway’s Cipriani restaurant, according to photos published by Us Weekly. The Magic Mike star wore a black suit with a charcoal button-down shirt, and the UCLA graduate shined in a forest green satin slit gown with diamond-encrusted stiletto heels. Joe attended the upscale event to accept the COAF Humanitarian Award. 

Two months prior, the pair were first spotted on several outings together in California, sparking relationship rumors. That month, PEOPLE confirmed that they were “casually seeing each other.” A source told the outlet that they had met at an “unofficial” afterparty for her HBO series, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. The insider added that they “met in the hot tub” at the soiree and “were talking the whole time.” Later that month, the publication reported that Joe and Caitlin were officially dating. 

In July, Joe filed for divorce from Sofía, 51, after being married for almost 10 years. He cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason why they split and noted that their date of separation was July 2. Earlier that month, the former couple announced their divorce in a statement to Page Six.  

“We have made the difficult decision to divorce,” Joe and Sofía explained in their statement. “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.” 

While Joe and Caitlin have been enjoying their time together, Sofía has been dating Justin Saliman. According to multiple outlets, the duo was first spotted together in October. Justin is an orthopedic surgeon based in Beverly Hills, who works at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in L.A. 

Before the Modern Family alum and Justin began their romance, Sofía’s single status became a big topic on America’s Got Talent over the summer. Her fellow judge Howie Mandel was seen teasing her about dating. Despite walking off stage on one occasion in response to one of Howie’s jokes, Sofía appeared to be a good sport about the situation. She also reflected on her and Joe’s divorce during an interview with PEOPLE in November.

“I’ve had a very interesting year,” she pointed out. “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. 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.”

However, Sofía insisted that she didn’t see it as a “bad” year, noting, “I think all the things are resolving, everything is going to be OK, and I’m very excited for next year.”