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Joe Manganiello Spent 7 Years Anticipating Death During Health Battle

Watch: Joe Manganiello and Caitlin O’Connor Engaged After 2 Years of Dating

Content warning: this article contains mention of suicidal ideation.

Joe Manganiello is grateful to be here.

The True Blood alum recently opened up about a harrowing, seven-year battle with a mysterious autoimmune illness—one doctors were never able to officially diagnose—that significantly impacted his physical and mental health.

Shortly after his marriage to Sofía Vergara in 2015, Manganiello began experiencing ulcers on his digestive tract, causing severe abdominal pain which left him unable to walk, in addition to fevers, blistering rashes, headaches and crippling fatigue.

As he told People in an interview published Oct. 7, “I was getting sicker and sicker.”

But, as he explained, doctors had no answers and so began a litany of tests and prescription medications, including drugs normally used to treat Crohn’s and colitis.

“None of them worked on me,” he said, noting he was forced to turn to hydrocodone pills, fentanyl patches and marijuana to mitigate his pain, which caused complicated feelings about his 13 years of sobriety. “I didn’t feel like I deserved to say that I was sober, [but] I had to put the pain and the condition first.”

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Inside Caitlin O’Connor’s “Amazing” Birthday Celebration With Fiancé Joe Manganiello

During his seven-year battle, Manganiello lost 60 pounds, underwent multiple colonoscopies and an emergency surgery in 2016 to remove part of his intestines, leaving him to temporarily use a colostomy bag.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

The physical challenges were so debilitating that the 49-year-old’s mental health took a significantly dark turn—one that was saved by the adoption of a then-sickly chihuahua named Bubbles, who remains a treasured companion to this day.

“I had to give my gun away because I kept thinking about it,” Manganiello said. “And then the dog came. I went from being the patient to the caretaker.”

In the pursuit of health, Manganiello—whose marriage to Vergara dissolved during this period of time—tried various holistic remedies. But it wasn’t until he met with a shaman in Santa Monica, who said generational trauma was to blame, that the Magic Mike actor felt any significant change.

“Whatever chains there were to the past suffering of my ancestors, they were completely broken,” he said. “There’s not an ounce of fear in me about moving forward with my life.”

Joe Manganiello/Caitlin O’Connor

He also had now-fiancée Caitlin O’Connor in his corner.

“Caitlin came into my life at this point,” he said, “where it was obvious to me that [she] was the direction to go.”

And he’s looking forward to every step they take together in the future—one he once didn’t think was promised.

“For seven years I thought I was going to be dead the next week,” he admitted. “The world has opened back up to me.”

For more celebrities who have shared harrowing health scares, read on.

Amanda Edwards/Getty Images for SAG-AFTRA Foundation

Debby Ryan’s Brain InjuryThe Jessie alum opened up about her “hellish” migraines, sharing how they’ve worsened after suffering five concussions over the course of her life.”The brain injuries make things significantly worse,” Ryan shared during a September 2026 episode of Mythical Kitchen’s Last Meals. “I had a pretty crazy, life-altering brain injury a few years ago, and I was out of commission for six months.”While Ryan described her first four concussions as “incidents,” she said her fifth one was trauma caused by “sustained shaking over a minute of time.” Now, the former Disney Channel star needs to close her eyes to “think better.””Quite often the world is really loud. It’s really too bright. There’s a lot going on,” she explained. “The visual data that I’m taking in can be so distracting and so loud. Then, with the migraines—which are significantly worsened by that—it sort of is too much.”

Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia’s Ovarian CystIn May 2026, the BFFs podcaster underwent emergency surgery after doctors discovered a large ovarian cyst that had been twisting her organs and causing internal bleeding.”There was a half a liter of blood in my pelvic floor,” Brianna shared in a TikTok video after the operation. “I have five incisions all over my stomach. They went in through my belly button with a camera so they could find all the blood.”

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Nikki Garcia’s Breast Implant InjuryThe Total Bellas alum revealed that one of her breast implants shifted after an elbow slam from fellow WWE star Piper Niven during a July 2025 wrestling match.”It’s OK,” she told sister Bella Garcia at the time. “We’re going to get it fixed one day. I told the doctor, I go, ‘Newly divorced, so the minute the boots are hung up, I’m going to come back to you and we’re going to make these girls look real good, because these girls are going to get some action in the future and that can’t look like that.'”

Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Vanity Fair

Gabby Windey’s Broken BackIn October 2026, the former The Bachelorette star detailed how she cracked a vertebra in her spine after setting her vibration plate—a motorized platform that rapidly moves back and forth to promote muscle activation and circulation—to “level 30, supersonic speed.””Seemingly, subtly, somewhere on the way to 30, maybe 10 or 20, my vertebrae turn crooked and rub against each other,” Windey shared in a Substack essaye aptly titled “Broke back, no mountain.””It was too fast vibrations I guess, and too many vibrations maybe, and too much pressure to shake,” she continued. “And it broke. Broke right off, like your ex-boyfriend’s bumper. Well, technically, it cracked.”The injury left her with what she described as “insatiable” paresthesia—a medical term for a tingling, pins-and-needles sensation.”This is the greatest sense of condemnation; of persecution, I’ll ever feel,” she added. “And I do wish it on my worst enemy If only they hadn’t wished it on me first.”

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Lupita Nyong’o’s Uterine FibroidsThe 12 Years a Slave star was diagnosed with uterine fibroids—non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the uterus—in 2014, the same year she won an Oscar for performance in the movie.However, it wasn’t until 2025 when she disclosed her diagnosis, writing on Instagram that she had been “suffering in silence” for more than a decade.”When we reach puberty, we’re taught periods mean pain, and that pain is simply part of being a woman,” she shared. “We’re struggling alone with something that affects us most.”

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Brian Austin Green’s Perforated AppendixThe Beverly Hills, 90210 alum revealed in April 2025 that he was recovering from surgery after his appendix nearly burst.“Last week, I started feeling some pain in my stomach,” Brian said in an Instagram video at the time. “I ended up going to the emergency room, and I had a perforated appendix. Not quite burst, but just before.”He added, “I’m on the road to recovery. It’s not an easy process. This is my first major surgery.”

Instagram/Suki Waterhouse

Suki Waterhouse’s HerniaIn July 2025, the Daisy Jones & The Six star shared that she had been hospitalized due to a hernia—a gap in the muscular wall that’s commonly found in the abdomen or groin area—caused by wearing tight pants.”‘Suki you never tweet anymore,'” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Have you ever considered I wore pants so tight 6 months ago it caused a hernia & I’ve been too scared to tell you?”

Steph Chambers/NWSL via Getty Images

Savannah DeMelo’s Mid-Game “Medical Emergency” Mid-GameThe Racing Louisville midfielder collapsed just a few minutes into her soccer team’s September 2025 match against Seattle Reign at Lumen Field in Seatle.The United States Women’s National Team player could be seen slowly sitting down on the field with a teammate by her side, per Reuters, as the referee called for trainers to check her out. She collapsed seconds later.“Savannah received immediate on-field care from medical personnel and was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation,” the National Women’s Soccer League wrote on X later that night. “She is stable and alert.”

Chris Haston/WBTV via Getty Images

Adam Devine’s Long-Term Injury From Childhood AccidentAdam Devine shared that injuries he sustained after getting hit by a cement truck when he was 11 years old are still affecting him to this day. “It’s been a nightmare,” Devine said in a 2025 episode of the In Depth With Graham Bensinger podcast. “I have spasms all over. For a while, [the doctors] told me I was dying—literally, within this last year.”He noted that pain comes and goes, adding, “My body has all these things that are a little wonky and a little wrong with it.”

Photo by David Becker/Getty Images

Jason Tartick’s Back InjuryThe Bachelor Nation alum shared that he went to the hospital “crawling on all fours” due to overwhelming back pain that was aggravated during an RV trip with a friend. “Right now, knees to my toes, it’s, like, still tingly, which is crazy,” he said on a March 2025 episode of his Trading Secrets podcast. “And to put in perspective, I don’t know, man, like not to sound douchey, but like two, three weeks ago, maybe a month ago, I was squatting probably like 295 pounds. And right now, I can’t do a squat on my foot. I can’t do a one legged squat, I fall. It’s like I had a stroke or something.”But with the help of a back specialist and some steroids, he added, “We’re on the mend.”

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Matt Kirschenheiter’s Heart AttackReal Housewives of Orange County’s Gina Kirschenheiter shared her ex-husband Matt Kirschenheiter suffered a heart attack in March 2025, but thankfully survived the ordeal.

Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images

Tracy Morgan’s Medical EmergencyThe 30 Rock star suffered a health scare at a New York Knicks basketball game in March 2025, leading to him being wheeled out of Madison Square Garden.However, the comedian shared an update on social media the following day, noting it was a case of food poisoning and that he was on the mend.

Instagram / Christy Carlson Romano

Christy Carlson Romano’s Eye InjuryThe Even Stevens alum shared in February 2025 that she was shot in the face while on a trip to shoot clay pigeons to celebrate husband Brendan Rooney‘s birthday.”There was another party with us and they unsafely fired in the wrong direction and shot me in the face,” she wrote on Instagram. “@thebrendanrooney immediately sprung into action, assessed me, and rushed me to the hospital. I was hit in 5 places, one was less than an inch from hitting me directly in my right eye.”The Kim Possible alum continued, “Unfortunately a fragment got lodged behind my eye and it is too risky to remove surgically at this time. Doctors will continue to monitor me (I can see normally at the moment).”The actress said she was grateful to be alive. “I love my daughters, husband, family, and friends so much,” she said. “I saw my life flash before my eyes and I’m telling you, hug the people around you every chance you can. Life can change in an instant.”

Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images

Amy Schumer’s Cushing SyndromeWhile the internet isn’t always a kind place, Amy Schumer is happy that, in this case, it helped her get answers.”The internet really came for me after doing a bunch of press, and I was like, ‘OK everybody, relax,'” Amy recalled of her “puffier” face on a January 2025 episode of Call Her Daddy. “But then doctors were chiming in in the comments and they were like, ‘No no, we think something’s really up. Your face looks so crazy that we think something’s up. And I’m like, ‘Wait, I’m getting trolled by doctors?’”After these doctors said they thought she had Cushing syndrome and that it may be caused by spiking coritsol levels or steroid injections, the Life & Beth creator thought, “Wait, I have been getting steroid injections in my scars.””I had a breast reduction, a C-section, whatever, and so I was getting these steroid injections,” Amy said. “So it gave me this thing called Cushing syndrome, which I wouldn’t have known if the internet hadn’t come for me so hard.”Toda, Amy is just relieved she’s OK. As she shared in a February 2024 News Not Noise newsletter, “Finding out I have the kind of Cushing that will just work itself out and I’m healthy was the greatest news imaginable.”

Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images

Casey Fitzgerald’s Neck Injury From Hockey Skate BladeThe AHL player was cut by a fellow player’s skate during a game in December 2024 and received 25 stitches. His father, New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald later told ESPN after his son was fully recovered, “We’re very lucky. I don’t wish that on any parent.”

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Hailey Bieber’s Blood ClotHailey Bieber had the “scariest moment” of her life when she was having breakfast with husband Justin Bieber and started experiencing stroke-like symptoms in March 2022.”Justin was like, ‘Are you OK?'” the Rhode skincare mogul shared a month later on YouTube, “and I just didn’t respond because I wasn’t sure. And then he asked me again and when I went to respond, I couldn’t speak. The right side of my face started drooping. I couldn’t get a sentence out.”While Hailey said the facial drooping stopped and her speech came back, she went to the hospital to make sure she was OK.”They did some scans and they were able to see that I had suffered a small blood clot to my brain,” the model added, “which they labeled and categorized as something called a TIA [Transient Ischemic Attack].”Later, Hailey went to the University of California, Los Angeles, where she found out she had a hole in her heart called a patent foramen ovale (PFO).She explained the blood clot had traveled into her heart, “escaped” through the hole and went to her brain, leading to the TIA.Hailey said she had a successful PFO closure procedure and was now feeling great.

Instagram / Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber’s Ramsay Hunt SyndromeThe same year Hailey had her health scare, Justin experienced one of his own.In June 2022, the “Baby” singer shared he was diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a condition that caused temporary paralysis to parts of his face and forced him to cancel the remainder of his Justice World Tour.“It is from this virus that attacks the nerve in my ear and my facial nerves and has caused my face to have paralysis,” Justin explained in an Instagram video at the time. “As you can see, this eye is not blinking. I can’t smile on this side of my face. This nostril will not move. So, there’s full paralysis on this side of my face.”In fact, he told his followers it had gotten “progressively harder to eat.” But after a while, the paralysis went away.”He’s doing really well,” Hailey said on a June 2022 episode of Good Morning America, later adding, “He’s feeling a lot better. Obviously, it was just a very scary and random situation to happen, but he’s going to be totally OK and I’m just grateful that he’s fine.”

Joe Maher/Getty Images

Jamie Foxx’s Brain Bleed & StrokeWhile Jamie Foxx initially kept details of his April 2023 hospitalization private, he later opened up about what he went through.One day in Atlanta, “I was having such a bad headache, so I asked my boy, I said, ‘Listen, I need an aspirin,’” the Oscar winner said in his 2024 Netflix special What Had Happened Was… “Before I could get the Aspirin, I went out. I don’t remember 20 days.”Jamie said he was initially taken to a doctor who gave him a cortisone shot and then sent him home. However, his concerned sister Deidra Dixon then drove him to a hospital, where they got an answer: He had a brain bleed that led to a stroke.Twenty days after undergoing an operation, the Django Unchainedwoke up May 4 in a wheelchair and couldn’t walk. He then went to Chicago for rehabilitation and therapy.”All I can tell you is that I appreciate every prayer,” he said, “because I needed every prayer.”

Trae Patton/NBCU Photo Bank

Tracey Yukich’s Medical Emergency on The Biggest LoserThe reality star revealed that she “died” while running a mile during the first challenge of the NBC competition series. “I don’t remember a lot,” she explained on Fit for TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser. “I remember hearing the helicopter. I just felt like I was floating. And then my grandpa was there. And then I saw darkness. But then I saw light. So I knew, I knew I died that day.”“My organs were literally shutting down,” she continued. “I didn’t realize that I had rhabdomyolysis. And rhabdomyolysis is your body’s way of saying, ‘I’m going to shut down on you.’”

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

Emilia Clarke’s Brain AneurysmEmilia Clarke filmed battle scenes for Game of Thrones, but in 2019, she published an essay in The New Yorker titled “A Battle for My Life.”Having a bad headache at the gym, “I reached the toilet, sank to my knees, and proceeded to be violently, voluminously ill,” the actress wrote. “Meanwhile, the pain—shooting, stabbing, constricting pain—was getting worse. At some level, I knew what was happening: my brain was damaged.”She was taken to the hospital for a brain scan.”The diagnosis was quick and ominous: a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), a life-threatening type of stroke, caused by bleeding into the space surrounding the brain,” the Emmy nominee added. “I’d had an aneurysm, an arterial rupture.”Emilia had immediate surgery to seal the aneurysm, calling the pain “unbearable.” While she was recovering, she continued, she experienced aphasia and was “muttering nonsense.”A week later, “the aphasia passed,” Emilia added, and she left the hospital a month after being admitted. At a 2013 brain scan, she learned a growth “doubled in size” and that she needed surgery again.”When they woke me, I was screaming in pain,” she wrote. “The procedure had failed. I had a massive bleed and the doctors made it plain that my chances of surviving were precarious if they didn’t operate again. This time they needed to access my brain in the old-fashioned way—through my skull.”Thankfully, Emilia shared, she’s now “at a hundred per cent.”

Chris Haston/WBTV via Getty Images

Cori Broadus’s StrokeSnoop Dogg‘s daughter Cori Broadus is grateful for her family.Because after she suffered a “severe stroke” in January 2024, her loved ones rushed to be by her side.”I texted them that I just had a stroke and sent them a picture,” she told E! News correspondent Will Marfuggi in December 2024. “Everybody just came to my rescue.”Because of other medical concerns, Cori ended up staying in the hospital longer than she initially expected.”I could have went home after my stroke, but my lupus wasn’t doing so well,” the Snoop’s Fatherhood: Cori and Wayne’s Story star continued. “My kidneys were failing. It was a lot going on.”Today, Cori is on the mend.”I’m doing great,” she added. “I just had a little bit of motor skills that I had to work back on. But other than that, I was fine.”

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Vanity Fair

Shailene Woodley’s Health BattleShailene Woodley’s early 20s were not an easy time health-wise.“It got to the point where I was losing my hearing. I couldn’t walk for longer than five minutes at a time without having to lay down for hours, and hours and sleep. Everything I ate hurt my stomach,” the actress said on a September 2024 episode of the SHE MD Podcast. “It was this conflation of issues and diagnoses and different doctors telling me different things.”So Shailene—who chose to keep the exact condition private—set out to find answers. “I come from a very holistic background and study herbalism,” she added. “So I was very keen on, ‘I’m going to work with real MDs, [and] I’m also going to work with independent kind of healers.’ Just trying to search for some sense of comfort in my own skin.”It was a long journey—one that lasted for 10 years.“Throughout that decade, a lot of other things came from feeling so much discomfort physically,” the Big Little Lies star noted, “which was, ‘My gosh, if everything I eat hurts my stomach, I’m now suddenly afraid of food.’ And then going into the kind of mental f–ckery that can happen with that of body dysmorphia and confusion about identity and feeling safe in my own capsule, in my own skin, what that meant, and what that should be.”After tending to both her physical and mental health, Shailene is feeling much better.“It was a journey that ultimately physically resolved itself, and I am very healthy,” she shared. “I’m so happy to be able to say that.”

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