IN the wake of a frightening bar brawl, SOFIA VERGARA’s protective son Manolo is urging his mom NOT to rush into marrying her hotheaded fiance Nick Loeb, say insiders.
The 20-year-old college student’s concerns about his mom’s relationship exploded after Loeb dragged the “Modern Family” beauty into an ugly melee at a Miami Beach nightclub, the insiders add.
“Nick’s hair-trigger temper has Manolo scared to death,” a source told The ENQUIRER.
“Manolo desperately wants to like the guy, but violence seems to follow Nick around. Manolo is extremely protective of his mother, and now he’s afraid for her safety. He believes Sofia should slam the brakes on her wedding plans immediately.”
Problems started after Loeb, a 37-year-old businessman and banking heir, rang in the new year with Sofia, 40, and Manolo at the Delano hotel in Miami’s trendy South Beach.
The group headed to the nearby nightclub Story for a party hosted by nightlife king Chris Paciello, a convicted murderer and reputed mobster who dated Sofia in the late 1990s.
Once there, witnesses say Loeb got into a heated argument with a patron who spilled a drink on Sofia. The spat spilled over to a nearby table, then turned physical as Sofia screamed at Loeb for starting the fight.
When Sofia tried to intervene, the busty Colombian-born bombshell was reportedly pushed to the ground. Her strapless dress was yanked down, and in an eye- popping wardrobe malfunction, one of her ample breasts popped out! That’s when an offended Manolo reportedly stormed off.
“Fortunately, Sofia wasn’t hurt,” said the source. “But Manolo was worried that she could have been. And, next time around, she may not be so lucky.”
After the dust-up, security booted Nick out of the club and Sofia followed him. The next day, the couple looked blissful as they soaked up the sun. But Nick’s body had scratches and scrapes from the scuffle.
While Sofia seems to have forgiven her fiance, insiders say Manolo, who attends college in Boston, has never gotten over The ENQUIRER’s report that Loeb secretly indulged in cocaine-fueled orgies with prostitutes while dating his mother.
“Manolo accepted Nick only because his mom’s in love with him,” said the source. “He wants her to be happy. But he was never crazy about Nick – and, now, even less so!
“Manolo also thinks that Nick’s never been totally accepting of him.”
Meanwhile, Manolo has vowed that Nick – whose biggest claim to fame is launching a gourmet food topping called Onion Crunch – would never take the place of his biological father Joe Gonzalez, Sofia’s ex-husband and high school sweetheart.
A few days before Father’s Day last year, Manolo posted a public video shout-out to his dad on the Internet – and apparently took a swipe at Nick in the process.
“I’m thinking about my dad,” said Manolo. “Thanks for being a great friend to my mom. No boyfriend that my mom ever had, or will have, can replace my dad. It will always be like that.”
The source added: “Manolo just wishes that his mom would take a time-out and not rush headlong into marriage with Nick. He’s hoping against hope that this could finally be a wake-up call for her before it’s too late!”
