Joe Manganiello promised Sofia Vergara that he would "never leave" her if she didn't want kids.

The 47-year-old actor split from Sofia - who already has Manolo, 32, with her first husband Joe Gonzalez - earlier this year after almost a decade of marriage and while she claimed that it all came to an end because he wanted children and she did not, he has claimed that is not the case.

He told Men's Journal: "That’s simply not true. We did try to have a family for the first year and a half. And we had a huge conversation right out of the gate during the first month we dated. I said, ‘If you're done with kids, then I understand. Just tell me, and I'll know what this is, and that's okay.’ But that wasn't the case with her. And I swore to her that I would never leave if it didn't work out. And I didn't.

"That wasn't inevitably why everything ended. It's because two people grew apart, and sometimes that happens."

Joe's comments come after 'Modern Family' actress Sofia, 52, claimed explicitly that the whole reason for the divorce was because she was hesitant to become an "old mom", although she insisted that she has no problem with anyone who chooses to become a parent later in life.

She told Spanish publication El Pais: “My marriage broke up because my husband was younger; he wanted to have kids and I didn’t want to be an old mom.

"I feel it’s not fair to the baby. I respect whoever does it, but that’s not for me anymore.

"I had a son at 19, who is now 32, and I’m ready to be a grandmother, not a mother. So, if love comes along, he has to come with [his own] children. I'm also in menopause - it's the natural way of things."