Joe Manganiello Had a Very Odd Meet-Cute With His Current Love Interest After Divorce From Sofía Vergara

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Joe Manganiello is stepping back into the dating world in the wake of his divorce from Sofía Vergara, but he probably didn’t expect to secure a date in the most unlikely of places. The Magic Mike star reportedly met actress Caitlin O’Connor, 33, at an informal gathering for the HBO show, Winning Time. 

Manganiello’s introduction to O’Connor didn’t happen by the buffet or the bar, though. It happened in a hot tub, according to a People source. The two artists had an immediate connection and “were talking the whole time.” The 46-year-old actor and O’Connor are “casually seeing each other at this point,” but trying to stay as low-key as possible after being spotted outside of Gold’s Gym in Venice, California by paparazzi recently. 

Friends of the couple are talking to media outlets privately, but one TV personality is already taking credit for the hookup. KTLA‘s Courtney Friel shared on her Instagram Story last Thursday with a snapshot of O’Connor, Manganiello, and other pals in the hot tub together. (See the photo HERE.) Friel wrote on the photo, “Yours truly hooked this up btw! @caitlin_oconnor is an amazing person- and she and Joe are both from Pittsburgh.” Ah, there’s even a hometown tie to the new lovebirds — it might be the start of beautiful relationship. 

Manganiello and Vergara appear to have moved on amicably without a contentious fight compared to other A-list celebrities this summer. The America’s Got Talent judge enjoyed a girls’ trip to Italy and has been front and center on her NBC competition show. Manganiello cited “irreconcilable differences” in his divorce filing after sources indicated to People that their lives “differ immensely in style.” The quiet split might have been shocking, but Manganiello and Vergara have seemed to weather the storm rather smoothly.

Before you go, click here to learn more about celebrities who’ve opened up about dating after divorce.