Howie Mandel<\/strong><\/a> defended his joke about Sofia Vergara\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> newly single status \u2014 and revealed he\u2019s on a mission to find her Mr. Right.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think everybody watching [America\u2019s Got Talent<\/em><\/a>] who is available believes they\u2019re the perfect match for Sofia,\u201d Mandel, 67, told Extra<\/em> <\/a>in an interview published on Wednesday, August 23. \u201cI\u00a0don\u2019t think Sof\u00eda, to be honest \u2026 she doesn\u2019t need my help. She really doesn\u2019t. I believe that she\u2019ll be fending them off.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He continued: \u201cLet\u2019s try and do it by the end of the season. We\u2019ll find her a match and leave it to America to vote.\u201d<\/p>\n Mandel, who cohosts AGT<\/em> with Vergara, 51, called the actress \u201ca great friend, a brilliant person, businessperson [and] powerhouse\u201d with \u201can amazing sense of humor\u201d before noting that whoever she ends up with is \u201creally, really lucky.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Mandel\u2019s comments come one day after AGT\u2019s first week of live shows, which kicked off on Tuesday, August 22, where he had some surprising advice<\/a> for 12-year-old ventriloquist Brynn Cummings<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI have one word of advice. If you\u2019re looking for eligible bachelors, you should have talked to Sofia, because she\u2019s in the market right now,\u201d he joked, to which Vergara \u2014 who split from estranged husband Joe Manganiello<\/strong><\/a> in July \u2014 enthusiastically replied, \u201cYes!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When talking to Extra<\/em> on Wednesday, Mandel defended his remarks, despite receiving some pushback for trying to get Vergara to go on a date so quickly after calling it quits with Manganiello.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople were online saying, \u2018Too soon.\u2019 I think as soon as you\u2019re available, it\u2019s never too soon. She\u2019s fresh, people,\u201d he quipped. \u201cPeople thought that was mean and insensitive. If you watched Sofia, she screamed after she came over to me and thought it was funny<\/a>. She said, \u2018Yes,\u2019 so she\u2019s got a great sense of humor and I wouldn\u2019t do anything to hurt a fellow \u2014 a friend first, and a fellow co-worker.\u201d<\/p>\n After clearing the air, Mandel added: \u201c\u2018[If] you can think of somebody [for Sofia to date], send it our way and we will either swipe left or right.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s episode of the NBC talent show marked Vergara\u2019s first TV appearance since Manganiello, 46, filed for divorce after almost eight years of marriage. According to court documents obtained by\u00a0Us Weekly<\/em> at the time, the estranged couple\u2019s date of separation was listed as July 2. A source later told Us<\/em> that Vergara and Manganiello were no longer \u201con the same page\u201d<\/a> in their relationship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cShe would rather go out with friends<\/a> and he would rather stay home, so they wouldn\u2019t spend a lot of time together,\u201d the insider explained. \u201cThey\u2019ve been living separate lives for about a year now, so it was time to call things off.\u201d<\/p>\n The actress has since filed legal documents requesting for the course to enforce the pair\u2019s prenup<\/a>, requesting certain assets to remain under her ownership and to maintain her earnings from before and during her relationship with Manganiello.<\/p>\n As Vergara sorts out the details of her split, Mandel isn\u2019t the only one of her friends to comment on her potential future romances. Julie Bowen<\/strong><\/a>, who starred alongside Vergara on Modern Family from 2009 to 2020, gushed over her longtime pal earlier this month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEverything [Sofia] does, she does with grace,\u201d Bowen, 53, told E! News<\/em><\/a> on Monday, August 21. \u201cAnd she rises above and she just goes forward. She\u2019s warm and generous and giving to everybody around her. I have no doubt that if she wishes to be in a relationship<\/a> she will be but she sure don\u2019t need one.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"2023](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/GettyImages-1473082750-2.jpg?w=700&quality=86&strip=all\")
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