For years, Joe Manganiello looked like he had everything - and behind the scenes, his body was quietly failing him.
The True Blood actor is opening up about a seven-year health ordeal in his upcoming memoir Bloodlines, revealing a "previously undisclosed health ordeal marked by multiple near-death experiences and medical crises." His health, he says, began to deteriorate without warning as "a cascade of autoimmune-related illnesses attacked his skin, thyroid, eyes, lungs, and digestive system."
The illnesses triggered chronic pain and eventually resulted in a life-saving organ amputation. Throughout the ordeal, doctors were unable to provide clear answers about what was causing his condition, leaving him searching for solutions beyond traditional medicine.
As for which organ - Manganiello has not yet specified. That detail is expected to be revealed when Bloodlines hits shelves on October 13.
In a statement to People, Manganiello described the experience as "the most brutally difficult time of my life - one I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, but also my greatest adventure."
His search for answers led him to spirituality, ancestry research, and alternative healing practices - exploring everything from ancient myths and family records along the way.
The memoir's synopsis describes it as a journey that ultimately led to "the rebirth of his own spirituality."
Manganiello said he hopes his story offers encouragement to others in similar fights: "I hope that what I went through on this journey can give readers hope that answers and healing may lie for them on the other side of whatever they are fighting through. The process of writing this book gave me the gift of perspective that helped me to see that my suffering was a cocoon from which I would emerge forever changed."
Raised in a Catholic home, Manganiello's path through illness into spiritual renewal is one that many believers will recognize - the idea that suffering, as painful as it is, can become the very thing that shapes and deepens a person's faith.
Bloodlines releases October 13, 2026.
