Sofía Vergara — known for roles in hit shows such as Netflix’s Griselda and the ABC sitcom Modern Family, has paid tribute to her long time friend Barry Peele on social media after he tragically passed away at the age of 61.
On Sunday, June 23, the actress, 51, shared a collection of photographs of the two over the years on her Instagram page along with the caption, “My life will never be the same without you @barrypeele ❤️U.” The post was filled with messages offering condolences to the star.
Peele’s passing was unexpected and the cause of his death is yet to be revealed, however it has clearly left Vergara upset, but fans are wondering what exactly was her relationship with Peele?
Who was Barry Peele?
Peele was a very accomplished real estate agent in Beverly Hills according to an article from Parade.com. He worked for Sotheby’s International Realty for over 20 years, according to the company’s website it offers “exceptional luxury real estate.” During his time as an agent, Peele worked with a number of famous clients including Madonna, Sharon Stone, Demi Moore, and of course Vergara. A statement was post on Instagram by the company earlier in the month on June 14 sharing the news of Barry’s passing.
Barry has been a loyal long-time seasoned agent with the brand and will be remembered as an outstanding individual who lived his life to the fullest
Barry Peele and Sofía Vergara’s relationship explained
It goes without saying, but the relationship was clearly a platonic one as we know Vergara was married to Joe Manganiello up until July last year. The pair were clearly very close friends. Vergara would often appear in Peele’s Instagram posts as he would in hers — they were both incredibly supportive of one another and the evidence of that can still be seen.
In a few posts from earlier this year Peele was hyping up his friend for her Netflix drama, Griselda. He made numerous posts about the show supporting his friend: “So excited for my friend Sofia’s new Netflix series portraying the first female Colombian drug lord Griselda Blanco.” He even posted a pic on Christmas day of him and the actress.
However, what’s not entirely clear is how the pair met or became friends in the first place. From the pictures posted to Vergara’s account it’s clear that they’ve been close for a number of years but what started their strong friendship isn’t clear. Did they meet first as realtor and client? Or did they know each other from before that? We may not know the ins and outs of the relationship, we know that Peele clearly had a great impact on Sofía Vergara’s life.