Joe Manganiello details the first night he met his wife Sofia Vergara –and why she initially said ‘no’ to a date

Joe Manganiello and Sofia Vergara’s romance story is the perfect example of what happens when you wait for love -- and know the right people. The True Blood star opened up about the moment he met his wife. During an appearance on his friend Jess Cagle’s SiriusXM radio show, the actor detailed how the journalist invited him to the White House Correspondents Dinner, where he first laid eyes on his love.

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“As we’re walking around, who comes swooping down in front of us? Sofia Vergara. And I can’t take my eyes off of her,” he said. Joe shared that he and his crew spent the night following the actress to different parties. Little did he know, the star who was believed to be engaged at the time, had the same idea.

Later on that night Jesse Tyler Ferguson comes up to me and says ‘My friend Sofia wants to come over and say hi,’” he shared. Joe revealed that Sofia revealed that she was a fan of his, but didn’t mention anything about going out. Three weeks after the event, Joe got news that Sofia wasn’t engaged, and saw the opportunity to pursue the woman of his dreams.

“I hit up Jesse Tyler Ferguson,” he recalled. I said ‘well I don’t know what kind of emotional state she’s in, but tell her I want to take her out, give me her number.” He continued: “Later that night, he shot me her number. I called her up, we laughed and talked.” After their conversation, Joe realized that he would have some free time during a press tour and would be able to spend about 40 hours in New Orleans where she was shooting a movie.

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“So I called her up and said ‘hey I’m gonna come to New Orleans. I’ll take you out. She said no, no lets wait until we get back to L.A.” Joe didn’t want to miss his opportunity, so he decided against that idea.

“I waited four years to hit my window. I’m not gonna let it close,” he shared. “I said’ If you’re not available, I’ll do some sight seeing. If you are, I can take you out.’ She said ‘you’re crazy.’ and I said ‘I’ll see you next week.’”And the rest was history! Joe and Sofia went on their first date and then tied the knot a little over a year later in 2015.