Joe Manganiello revealed his massive three-foot dragon tattoo, which goes down the right side of his body.<\/p>\n
The \u201cTrue Blood\u201d alum, 49, showed off his ink on Instagram<\/a> Monday, sharing that he got the tattoo to cover his surgical scars. Manganiello underwent emergency intestinal surgery back in 2016 and battled a near-fatal autoimmune disease<\/a> for seven years, which he writes about in his new memoir, \u201cBloodlines.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n He showed the progression of the tattoo in pics, going from a black outline to eventually getting it colored in with red and orange.<\/p>\n \u201cIn chapter four [of \u201cBloodlines\u201d], I related my struggle with the illness to my body sending out knights to fight a (western) dragon that didn\u2019t exist,\u201d he captioned the post. \u201cThe soldiers would then punch holes throughout my body when they couldn\u2019t find an enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe Manganiello (seen here in January 2025) showed off his massive dragon tattoo on Instagram Monday. Todd Owyoung\/NBC via Getty Images<\/p>\n The three-foot tattoo covers the right side of his body. Joe Manganiello\/Instagram<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea to cover my surgery scars with my first tattoo, a three-foot dragon down my right side, was my effort to take back what little agency I felt that I had, and to signal to my body to stop attacking the dragon\u2026 because the (eastern) dragon was me\u2026,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n Last week, the actor posted shocking pics of himself in the hospital<\/a> after they took out his large intestine, showing his drastic weight loss.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the days following the amputation of my large intestine, my weight began to plummet,\u201d he wrote on Instagram. \u201cI would ultimately lose a total of 60 lbs during the two weeks following the surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n He showed a second graphic close-up of his \u201cabdomen after the reconnection\/take down surgery or anastomosis, in which my ostomy bag was removed and what was left of my digestive tract was reconnected.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cTrue Blood\u201d alum got the tattoo to cover his surgical stars from a 2016 operation in which they took out his large intestine. Joe Manganiello\/Instagram<\/p>\n He said the tattoo was \u201can effort to take back what little agency I felt that I had.\u201d Joe Manganiello\/Instagram<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tWant more celebrity and pop culture news?\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with Page Six Daily.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The \u201cMagic Mike\u201d star\u2019s memoir also delves into how his illness negatively affected his marriage to his now ex-wife, Sof\u00eda Vergara. <\/p>\n After he wrote in the book that she \u201cridiculed\u201d him<\/a> for his 5-pound dog named Bubbles \u2014 whom Manganiello adopted in 2019 when he was considering suicide \u2014 and refused to give him a hug even when he begged, she hit back by posting about \u201cnarcissistic men\u201d <\/a>on Instagram.<\/p>\n But Manganiello insisted his book is about the \u201csuffering\u201d he went through<\/a> with his illness, and not about his failed marriage to Vergara, in an interview with \u201cCBS Mornings\u201d last week.<\/p>\n \u201cThe trauma and the pain affected everyone in my life, including me in ways that you can\u2019t predict,\u201d he shared.<\/p>\n Last week, the actor shocked fans by showing his drastic weight loss after his surgery, noting he lost 60 pounds during the first two weeks post-operation. Instagram\/@joemanganiello<\/p>\n In his new memoir, \u201cBloodlines,\u201d he talks about battling a near-fatal autoimmune disease and how it negatively affected his marriage to his now ex-wife, Sof\u00eda Vergara. They\u2019re seen here in January 2015. WireImage<\/p>\n \u201cThis book is about the journey I went through,\u201d he continued, noting that he tried to \u201cpaint everyone with an amount of grace.\u201d<\/p>\n Manganiello is now engaged to Caitlin O\u2019Connor<\/a> after two years of dating, but he admitted he\u2019d probably still be married<\/a> to Vergara if it wasn\u2019t for his illness during his appearance on SiriusXM\u2019s \u201cRadio Andy\u201d last Wednesday.<\/p>\n He said that thinks about it often when he sees photos of him with the \u201cModern Family\u201d alum from when they first started dating.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s heartbreaking when you look at these two people with life ahead of them, but for us, we didn\u2019t know what was ahead,\u201d he said. \u201cI felt guilty for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t