Joe Manganiello and Caitlin O’Connor’s relationship timeline explored amid engagement speculations

Joe Manganiello and Caitlin O’Connor are not engaged, but it looks like they’re heading that way, Us Weekly has reported.

A source recently told the outlet:

“They are not engaged … yet. But it’s heading in that direction soon. It’s not really a question.” They are very strong together and serious about a future," the insider added. “They want to have a family. She wants to be a mom, and he’s open to being a father.”

Rumors that the two are engaged began on June 25, when the model, 34, was spotted sporting what looked like a diamond ring on her ring finger. She was out on a date with the actor at the time at Le Naumachie in Taormina, Italy, Page Six has reported.

The Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty actress first met Joe Manganiello in Los Angeles at a party. Speaking with E! News in October 2024, she recalled their first meet-cute:

"We are both from Pittsburgh. I'm from Uniontown, which is about an hour and a half south of Pittsburgh, but we met in Los Angeles. I was at a party for Winning Time, and he was there." Since then, they've been on a "world tour," she said.

Scroll down to take a closer look at their dating timeline.

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Joe Manganiello and Caitlin O’Connor's relationship dissected: From his marriage ending to her getting candid about dating in the public eye

August 2023:

Joe Manganiello, who was previously married to Sofia Vergara, began dating Caitlin O’Connor in August 2023. It was a month after he announced the end of his seven-year marriage. At the time, the pair told Page Six in a statement:

“We have made the difficult decision to divorce. 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.”

Vergara has since disclosed that their marriage didn’t work out because Joe Manganiello wanted kids. She didn’t want “to be an old mom,” she told El País in January 2024. However, Manganiello said that it was just because “two people grew apart, and sometimes that happens,” he told Men’s Journal in July 2024.

Nonetheless, he went on to meet O’Connor at a party, which was a “meet-cute” plan engineered by her friends, Jim Hecht and his wife, Courtney Friel. O’Connor once told SheKnows:

“He had told Joe, ‘There’s a girl from Pittsburgh who is going to be there,’ and Jim’s wife Courtney said, ‘Hey, we invited Joe, he’s from Pittsburgh. I had no idea that we would hit it off."

September 2023:

The pair headed to a post-premiere party for O’Connor’s HBO show together, and later that month, they were seen exiting Gold’s Gym in Venice, California, together. Us Weekly has also reported that they left in the same Cadillac SUV.

December 2023:

Manganiello and O’Connor took to the red carpet at the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) gala for their official debut as a couple. The event took place at New York’s Cipriani 25 Broadway restaurant in New York City. Joe Manganiello was honored with the COAF Humanitarian Award that night.

February 2024:

The pair made things Instagram official days after Valentine’s Day, when Joe Manganiello shared a string of photos alongside his beau. In one of them, they could be seen grooving at a Tool concert in Los Angeles. In another, O’Connor was gorging on a box of chocolates with a massive bouquet of red roses beside her.

“And celebrated Valentine’s Day with Tool & Caitlin… ❤️,” Joe Manganiello penned in the caption.

March 2024:

A source told Us Weekly at the time that the pair were seriously considering marriage for their future:

“They’re going to get engaged soon [and then] start trying for kids,” the insider revealed. “Marriage is definitely in their future.”

July 2024:

An insider told People Magazine that, a year after he divorced Vergara, Joe Manganiello and O’Connor were stronger than ever.

"He treats her like a queen," the source said. "They love spending all of their time together." They were on "what seems to be a world tour of sorts" at the time, and had enjoyed a "very romantic trip" to Paris. "The Eiffel Tower was right outside their hotel room window. While in France they went to the Louvre, Versailles, the French Open and to see the band Tool," the source said.

October 2024:

O’Connor opened up about her romance with the Magic Mike star for the first time in an interview with SheKnows, and what it’s like to be dating in the spotlight:

“I think it really comes with the territory, and I have never had a problem with it,” she said. “I know that it comes with being an actress, being in the public eye.” She added that she “really appreciates that the media has been kind and nice for the most part, and I hope it keeps going that way.” “I think the future looks good.”

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