Joe Manganiello ''couldn't take [his] eyes off'' of Sofia Vergara when they first met.

The 'True Blood' alum married Sofia, 47, in 2015, and has said he knew the actress would be someone special the moment he laid eyes on her at the 2014 White House Correspondent's party.

Joe attended the bash with his brother, Nicholas Manganiello, and Jess Cagle, and recalled being lost for words when he spotted the 'Modern Family' actress.

He said: ''As we're walking around who comes swooping down in front of us and just walks in front of us for about 100 yards is Sofia Vergara. She was wearing this dress that looked great on her and I just could not take my eyes off of her.

''And Jess said, 'Oh, you like that?' I said 'Yes, I like that a lot.' And he said, 'What part of the party do you want to go to next?' I said, 'Wherever she's going, let's go there.' So we just kind of followed her around.''

Joe met Sofia later that night, but thought nothing would happen between them because she was engaged to Nicholas M. Loeb.

But after learning Sofia had split from Nicholas, Joe contacted her 'Modern Family' co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson and told him he wanted to ''take her out''.

He added: ''I hit up Jesse Tyler Ferguson and said, 'Hey man, was she broken up with the guy at the time?' He said, 'Yeah, I wouldn't have tried to pull anything if that wasn't the case.' I said, 'Well, I don't know what kind of emotional state she's in but tell her I want to take her out.' ''

Jesse gave Joe her phone number and the pair began talking whilst Sofia was in New Orleans filming a movie.

And after she told him they would have to postpone their date until she was back in Los Angeles, Joe flew out to New Orleans.

Speaking to Jess Cagle for his SiriusXM show, the 43-year-old actor said: ''I said 'I'm coming to New Orleans, if you're not available I'm just gonna do some sightseeing, but I'm gonna be there and if you're free I can take you out.' She said, 'You're crazy.' I said, 'I'll see you next week.' ''