‘One Piece’ Star Joe Manganiello (49) Shares Graphic Photos From His Near-Fatal Illness as ‘Bloodlines’ Memoir Pulls Back the Curtain

For years, Joe Manganiello’s public image was built on strength. The ‘True Blood’ and ‘Magic Mike’ star was known for his towering physique, and he was once named among Men’s Health’s fittest men of all time. That made the story he’s now telling in his memoir all the more striking.

‘Bloodlines’ hit shelves on Tuesday, and it chronicles a medical ordeal that nearly cost him his life. According to the book’s synopsis, he faced multiple near-death experiences and medical crises that attacked his skin, thyroid, eyes, lungs and digestive system, ultimately leading to a life-saving organ amputation. Doctors struggled for years to find the cause.

Now he’s showing fans what that looked like. On Thursday, the 49-year-old posted 3 photos to Instagram under a “trigger warning,” each tied to Chapter 1 of the book. The images, which Instagram has placed behind an age restriction, offer an unfiltered look at the physical toll of his seven-year illness.

The first photo was taken in a hospital room just days after surgery. In it, he sits in a hospital bed hooked up to IV lines, visibly slimmer. He explained that after his large intestine was removed, his weight plummeted, and he lost 60 pounds in the 2 weeks after the surgery. Part of his first ostomy bag is visible if you look closely.

The second photo is more graphic. It shows his abdomen after a reconnection surgery, in which the ostomy bag was removed and what remained of his digestive tract was reconnected. The third is a close-up of his face and skin, which he used to illustrate the many skin conditions he suffered over the course of the illness. He described the skin as an immune organ stricken with just about every condition known to man, often in combination.

The illness began in the mid-2010s, shortly after he married Sofía Vergara in 2015. He experienced acute abdominal pain and a string of debilitating symptoms, including fevers, rashes, headaches, fatigue and rectal bleeding. Test after test failed to reveal the cause.

The crisis came to a head in 2016, when he was hospitalized and his digestive tract was failing. In an excerpt from his memoir, he writes that Vergara had to make a life-saving decision while he was unconscious. He has since said he believes he might not have survived without her support. He was eventually diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.

One of the most surprising details involves his career. He has told CBS Mornings that he was still recovering from the life-threatening health crisis when he got the call to meet Ben Affleck about playing a Batman villain. He was hospitalized for 2 months, and writes that at the same time as the job offer, he was dying. The offer was for Deathstroke in a canceled ‘Batman’ movie.

That timeline gives the story an almost cinematic irony. A man who spent years as a symbol of physical power was fighting for survival just as Hollywood called with one of its biggest roles.

The good news is that he’s doing much better. In a People interview published earlier this month, Manganiello said he has since discovered that he has an autoimmune disease, and that he has regained his strength. He said he can’t believe he’s alive, and he’s determined to appreciate his health.

The recovery wasn’t easy. He recalled walking through the hospital while still attached to an IV as he gradually worked toward being discharged. After losing much of his hard-earned muscle, he has gradually rebuilt it.

Opening up about a private health crisis is rarely easy, especially for someone whose career has been tied to his body. By posting the photos with a clear trigger warning, he’s balancing honesty with care for his audience. The images also help explain the book’s title and the scale of what he went through.

For readers living with chronic or autoimmune conditions, his story may offer some comfort. It shows how long it can take to find answers, and how much resilience that search can demand. And it reminds fans that even the strongest-looking people can be fighting battles no one can see.

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