Sophia Vergara wins embryo court battle against her ex

A judge has ruled in favor of Sophia Vergara after the actress was involved in a long-term lawsuit with her former partner Nick Loeb concerning the former couple’s frozen embryos. 

The Modern Family actress has been married to Joe Manganiello since 2015. In 2017 the actress opened a legal case against her former fiance, Nick Loeb, to block him from using the embryos they had frozen while they were together. 

In 2013, Nick and Sophia underwent in vitro fertilization treatment at the ART Reproductive Center in Beverly Hills. The former couple froze the resulting embryos that contained half of each other’s DNA. Loeb then attempted to gain full control of the fertilized eggs and implant them in a surrogate mother. On Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021, Sophia was finally granted an injunction against Loeb to stop him from making a baby with their embryos.

Read more from woman&home:  
• Best pillow for a comfortable, pain-free night’s sleep
• Best scented candles for a warm and cozy home this winter
• Best kindles for digital book lovers - we help you decide which one to buy

The judge ruled that Sophia would be granted an injunction against Loeb so that he could not "create a child without the explicit written permission of the other person." This means that without Sophia’s written permission, he will not be able to use her frozen embryos in a surrogate.

Loeb previously signed a waiver that required written consent from both parties if the embryos were to be used. During the case, he argued that he signed this document under “duress.” The court found, "the Form Directive is not void or voidable based on Defendant Loeb's duress defense as to its execution." Meaning that ‘duress’ was not a valid excuse made by Loeb that invalidated the document.

Loeb suggested that the ruling was not just and that the judge had been influenced by Sophia Vergara’s fame. "[The judge] was clearly influenced by Hollywood, which is a pattern I expose in my upcoming film Roe v. Wade.” 

He went on to attack his former partner’s character and religion. “It's sad that Sofia, a devout Catholic, would intentionally create babies just to kill them," he said.

This custody battle is currently taking place in California, but the former couple also had a dispute about the same issue in Louisiana. The Louisiana case was dismissed in January of this year when the court sided with Sophia and did not grant custody of the embryos to Loeb.